


Kingdom of Crowns: Garden of Stones

by hunters_retreat



Series: The Kingdom of Crowns [3]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, M/M, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-12
Updated: 2012-11-12
Packaged: 2018-05-06 14:08:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 51,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5419940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunters_retreat/pseuds/hunters_retreat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>  As Jared, Danneel, and Jensen begin to settle into their new roles in the Kandilihar Triune, tragedy happens. Danneel is left to hold the walls in her king's absence but friends aren't always what they seem and no one expects the pregnant Queen Consort to hold the castle against foreign enemies. Danneel isn't called the Fiery Queen for nothing though and in the battle ahead of her, she needs every bit of steel she can find.</p><p>With Danneel keeping Kandilihar safe, Jared is plunged further into the murderous plot of his sister as he tries to undo the harm she's done while building new alliances and making new friends. His reunion with his husband is short lived though when Jensen confesses to prophetic visions that are leading him to a place no one would have dared guess; the fabled Crown of Kingdoms. The Jade Crown had once united the Six Lakes Realms under a High King where peace reigned until betrayal destroyed it all. Jensen has to find the crown to bring an end to the deaths and warmongering of Jared's family and to find a way to protect his friends, family, and the husband and wife he has come to love more than life itself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kingdom of Crowns: Garden of Stones

 

 

 

[ ](http://hunters-retreat.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/432/28120)

[Master Art Post ](http://deadflowers5.livejournal.com/124871.html)

 

The tower walls stood tall above the plains, the flash of thunder in the distance promising a storm rising on the horizon.  Danneel, the Queen Consort of Kandilihar, stood on the wall and looked out towards the road that led to the Pela Sea.  The wall held no comfort today, though she hadn’t expected to find solace there.  She had spent a good portion of her life watching the road for her husband and though she’d always thought him becoming king and finding their triune would mean an end to the loneliness, she walked the walls alone again, waiting.

She pulled at the shawl around her shoulders, sheltering her from the breeze.  It wasn’t stiff, but she felt the cool of it anyway.  The healers assured her it was just the pregnancy but she didn’t have the heart to tell them it was no such thing.  She knew what touched her; troubled sleep and the memory of terror in her second husband’s eyes when he woke had given her a fair share of her own nightmares since her two husbands had been gone from her. 

Danneel felt the loss of Jensen, the Prince Consort, more keenly than she felt the loss of her King.  It wasn’t that she didn’t love Jared, because the Jade Crown knew she was wild about the man, but because Jensen was still new to them both.  Since the triune had been announced, he’d been a boon to their relationship; a passionate and caring lover, a cautious and dedicated diplomat, and a warm and understanding friend.  She had always thought that the next time she had to wait on these walls, she’d at least have Jensen at her side to help her combat the loneliness. 

She knew the trouble that had befallen Jared on the road and she’d gotten a message that Jensen was giving chase, but she’d had no word since.  She thought about closing the palace gates to foreigners while she awaited news, but that was a reactionary gesture and she knew she couldn’t.  This wasn’t the first time Jared had left her to guard their people during hard times, but she had come to think that those times were past them.  Besides, the Great Faire would soon be upon them and the last thing Kandilihar needed was to turn away the people that were already beginning to gather at the great crossroads before the walls to set up trade.  Much of the goodwill that Kandilihar received in the world was garnished in the Faire these days.  

Danneel could remember as a child how somber the adults had always been when the stalls began to dot the horizon, but it was a time for traders to come together and the Faire was a place to find the latest news and the comings and goings of other nations.  She would run from stall to stall, her hand held tight in her brothers, as he showed her treasures from the Six Lakes Realm and beyond.  Chris was older by a few years and when their mother had passed, telling him to take care of her, he’d taken the promise to heart.  He had shown her everything from how to use a sword to how to best haggle with a Torugan.

She’d planned to show him up this year with the tutelage Jensen had given her on Torugan bargaining, but she feared he wouldn’t be back in time to witness the Faire; another heartache that kept her from her beds when her body needed the sleep.  She loved her husbands, but she also missed her big brother.  There were times when she’d hated that Christian was so set on becoming a knight in a kingdom that was always at war, when she’d feared that each time he rode off would be his last, but Jared had always been at his side and she’d known the two would keep each other safe.  Now there was Murray and Jensen though and the dynamics were shifting between the four of them.  She didn’t know who would look out for her brother.  She knew they would all fight with him and protect him as they could, but Murray was there to protect Jensen and Chris was there to protect Jared.  Jared and Jensen would protect one another with their dying breath is need be.  There was no one to think of Chris first.

She pushed a stray piece of hair back from her face and sighed.  She just had to trust that her brother would return with her husbands.  She had faith, by the Jade Crown, that her life was meant to have happiness.  She’s worked too hard, sidestepped too many insults and bandied too many retorts to have everything all fall apart when she was on the eve of having it all.

“Your Majesty?”

Danneel wanted to walk the other way, to keep her sulk to herself, but that wasn’t who she was.  She knew when she married Jared what her role would be and she’d fought to be by his side.  Tonight, she could be no less than who she had fought to be. 

“Orator Beaver, you’re up late,” she said with a fond smile that was only slightly feigned.  She liked the orator more than most and when Jared had become king he was the man that had supported them the best.  He was warm and witty and had a warrior’s spirit.  He reminded her greatly of her brother.

“As are you, My Queen.  I’ve heard people in the castle speaking of the fiery watch but I didn’t realize they meant you.”

She smiled softly at the name.  “It eases my mind to walk along the walls when my husband is gone, as you well know.  We have spent years walking these walls together, you and I.”

“True, but I hadn’t expected you to be out so late in your condition.  I would have thought the healers would keep you tied to a bed once the chill of evening took the walls.”

“And they would if I weren’t the Queen and reminded them of such,” Danneel said.  The Orator moved to stand beside her, offering her silent camaraderie as she looked out over the hills and plains.

“This isn’t the first time he’s left.  What troubles you?” he asked, breaking the silence.

Danneel would smile if she had the heart for it.  “The Faire comes and he’ll miss it.  I had hoped to take Jensen.  I had hoped to bargain for Torugan amethyst with my brother and to perhaps get Ruvien wine to share with my husbands this year.  Instead, I will be walking the stalls alone.”

“I have an old friend, a Torugan merchant who makes the most amazing food,” Orator Beaver said.  “I don’t want to know what they put in the dish, but the spice is exotic and the gravies thick and dark.  I doubt a healer would allow you near the stall, but I wouldn’t mind a friend to enjoy such a meal with.”

Danneel gave him a real smiled then, letting out a small laugh when the orator winked at her.  “That sounds like just the thing I need, not this coddling they like to do.  We might both be missing our king, but two old friends shouldn’t miss the chance to enjoy the company.”

“Who are you calling old, your Majesty?”

Danneel laughed.  “I remember you teaching Chris to block a wooden sword when I was still young enough to wear short skirts, Orator.”

Orator Beaver smiled.  “True enough.  I never had a student who learned the work of a soldier so quickly or so well.  From the first moment I saw him looking at the wooden swords the knights were working, I knew he’d be one of us.  I felt sorry for you then, little twig of a thing always following along, fingers gripped tight in his shirttails.  I knew he’d be a man of war and I would have turned him back for nothing except I knew the sword was in his heart.  He’s a swordsman and the King’s sworn right hand.  Never doubt, Your Majesty, that he is the fiercest warrior I’ve ever met.  He’ll see the king through whatever gets in their way and make sure they both come back to you.”

“You believe that, don’t you?”

“There is only one thing the King’s Swordarm loves more than his King, and that is his little sister.”

Danneel took comfort in the words and she put a hand on the Orator’s, squeezing slightly in thanks. 

“You ease my heart, old friend.  I think I might be able to find some comfort in the pillow now.”

She left the wall without looking back.  A long day would follow her waking, but she had little worry for sleep now.  She walked into the wedding suites and threw open the door that stood between the two rooms. 

She hated and loved the wedding suites in equal measure.  The suites were nothing more than two apartments that were adjoined by a single door.  Danneel took residence in one and Jensen in the other until such a time that Jared’s heir was born.  While Jared had his possessions in her side of the suite, he lived in both, moving from spouse to spouse as he pleased.  It was supposed to allow Jared the freedom to be with them both but kept Danneel and Jensen from sharing a bed so that the child growing within her would be the king’s child, with no chance to contest his parentage.  Danneel spent as much time in Jensen’s rooms as he did though.  When they were alone, the three of them moved from room to room freely and it was only in the wee hours of the morning after their lovemaking – with Jared and Jensen’s or Danneel and Jared’s – that they would part ways.  Danneel hated the need to be separated from her husbands for any reason so she hated these rooms.  She ached for the day her child was born and Jensen would be able to move into the Royal Suites that she and Jared had shared since their wedding day. 

She loved the suites though because she was given the chance to know her second husband there.  As much as Jared had given her the chance to meet Jensen before he asked for his hand in marriage, Danneel hadn’t known him.  It was the King’s choice, who to take as a spouse, and Jared had been more than accommodating to Danneel in regards to what she thought would make a good Prince Consort for them. 

She’d seen the attraction immediately, the way Jared and Jensen watched one another, and she’d understood why Jared’s eyes strayed to Jensen so often.  He was beautiful, simply put and without embellishment.  As she’d met with him and talked to him though, she’d witnessed his sharp sense of humor, his dry wit, and his caring nature.  In only one night, she’d known that Jared had found his match and that Jensen had already given his heart to Jared.  In the wedding suites, Danneel had gotten to know her second husband.  She’d learned to care for him and to understand his fears.  She knew him as a friend and she dearly cared for him.  It was in the wedding suites that she learned to love him for who he was, and not for the smile he put on Jared’s face.

She stood in the doorway between rooms before finally letting her servants come in and help her undress, something that made her miss her husbands even more.  Surely they enjoyed taking this chore from the servants as much as she enjoyed having them undress her.  When she was in her nightdress, she brushed the knots out of her hair and deftly braided the plaits to settle in for the night.  She thought of her own bed and smiled as she left that part of the suite and entered into Jensen’s.  He would understand her need to sleep with her nose buried in his pillows, the scent of both her husbands surrounding her for the night. 

When she closed her eyes, before her was with the memory of laughing jade eyes beside a smiling dimpled face, and with that image came the hope that she would see them both in the near future.

**        

Rumors spread before them as they walked but Jared paid them no mind.  He was use to words flowing after him and before him, like wind rippling over the grasslands.  His early morning departure wasn’t the topic, no matter that it was all that filled Jared’s mind.  No, the Torugan warriors watched him with wonder and unease.  Wonder because he was husband to a man that had bested their best and unease because it was Jensen’s word that had them all ready to follow Jared. 

His husband was at this side this morning, quiet.  His outward appearance was of a reserved man who gave polite attention to those around him but Jared knew that his mind was still working on the images his latest dreams had given him and Jared’s heart ached at the coming departure.  Jared would leave the Torugan lands today to try to return to Pelagia and right the wrongs his sister had committed against Jensen’s family but his husband would not be going with him.

Jensen had his own travels to arrange and they were both burdened at the separation when they had just been reunited the day before.  There was no way around it, not with the world turning as it was, but Jared could wish it was not so.  Today, he could wish he was a simple man, a husband, and not a king who had to care for a realm and try to bring aid to his allies.

“You’re sure that they’ll be good enough?” Jensen asked in a whisper.

Jared smiled.  It was just like his husband to be concerned about his bodyguard when Jensen was the one running off with only three men instead of the army of soldiers that Jared would have at his back.  Granted, Jared was going up against an army but Jensen was going into enemy lands. 

“Yes.  What about you?”

Jensen let out a small laugh at that, blushing slightly as Jared called him out on his question.  “You should ask when Kane and Murray can hear you.  I’d be interested in hearing their answer.”

“I’d be interested to hear what they have to say about your question as well.  It was your move that fell the Torugan shama and your words that swayed them to follow me.  You think Kane and Murray would let me go with them if they didn’t think my own men would be enough to see me escaped if the Torugans turned on me?”

Jensen didn’t answer immediately but when they halted in one of the main corridors, Jensen pulled him close, pressing a quick kiss to his lips.  “I don’t want to have to return to our wife to tell her of an empty throne.”

Jared sighed as he brought one hand up to Jensen’s cheek.  “Nor do I.  Keep yourself safe my Love.”

Jensen turned his face slightly and kissed the palm of Jared’s hand.  “I will.  Return home soon, Jared.  We have a wife to return to and unless we hurry, that child will be born without us.”

“Did you see it, Jensen?”  Jensen’s dreams weren’t of the pleasant sort and too often his nightmares woke them all.  Jared ached to know about his child though and Danneel had still been in early pregnancy when they had left her in the Kandilihar castle to lead in their stead while they visited Jensen’s homeland of Pelagia.  The trip had gone horribly wrong and they hadn’t made it to Pelagia before Jared was kidnapped.  After a harrowing experience where Jared’s sister had come forward as his abductor and murdered Jensen’s family, Jared had escaped with a Torugan soldier.  Now, Jensen was on his way to stop a war of the realm by finding a mythical artifact and Jared was going to free Pelagia from her twisted rule.  No matter what else happened though, his thoughts always turned back to his wife and unborn child. 

Jensen shook his head.  “I have told you all I saw.  Your child will be born strong and healthy but I couldn’t tell if it was male or female, nor did Danneel speak a name as I saw her.  But you have to return home to her soon or I fear she will have harder days ahead of her.”

“If our plan works, then perhaps we can turn aside these visions of yours,” Jared said softly.   “If Ruden and Lehne are able to get us into the castle, then we’ll take Pelagia back and turn towards Kandilihar.  I don’t know if they can stop the war that is brewing, but if King Stuart can be stopped then it will have been worth it.”

Jensen nodded, but Jared could see his husband didn’t believe it would come to pass.  His nightmares were too real in his mind, the future too clouded with blood and ash for him to think they would be able to sidestep fate. 

**

Jared walked away and Jensen couldn’t help but feel his heart grow heavier with it.  It wasn’t time to leave one another yet, but it wouldn’t be long before Jensen would need to make his way to Donara and Jared would leave to return to Pelagia.  Plans had to be made though and now that they had the respect of the Torugan warriors, Jared needed to make his plans with Ruden and Lehne. 

Jensen walked away from the main passage to try to find his own wayward party.  As much as Jared had argued the need to have a large contingent of men with Jensen, they would be too easily seen and Jensen’s mission with one of stealth, not great arms.  Instead, Jensen was traveling with three men, though he was himself surprised at the composition of his group. 

Jensen turned the corner, thinking Murray might be back near their sleeping quarters, but he stopped and pushed himself back along the wall to keep from being seen.  Jensen hadn’t talked to Jared about the scene he’d witnessed between Kane and Murray while Jared had been in Megan’s clutches, but it still weighed heavily on Jensen’s mind.  To see the two men so close together again made Jensen’s anxiety grow.  Murray had his back to the wall and Kane was before him, standing far closer than the two knights normally would.

“He isn’t yours to protect,” Murray said softly.  The chamber held sound well, giving Jensen the opportunity to hear what was said but it didn’t spill down into the hallway and Jensen was grateful for that.  Even if Ruden had teased that it was to keep the rest of the clan from being awakened by noisy reunions.

Kane’s back was tense, his stance bordered on a threat but Jensen knew better than anyone that Kane would never hurt Murray.  “Why can’t you accept that I’m doing what I must?”

“Deserting your King is what you must do?”  There was no hiding the scorn in Murray’s voice and Kane took a step back at the words.

“You don’t know anything about it.  You don’t know what I’ve done to protect my King, what I will continue to do.  You have no right to judge me.”

“If there is anyone who can, it’s me.”  Murray defended.

Kane’s movements were faster than the desert snake, arms pushing Murray back until he was pinned to the wall.  “Don’t you think to judge me,” Kane hissed.  “Your prince never went to war.  Your prince never went into battles where you had to leave his side because it gave you the best chance to protect him.  Your prince never asked you to leave him, to protect things he cared for more than himself.  He never gave you reason to leave his side.  Until he does, you don’t get to judge me.  Not you.”

Murray’s eyes were wide, not in fear but Kane’s outburst seemed to surprise him as much as it did Jensen.  When Kane stepped back, Murray gripped his wrist, not allowing him to walk away.  “Then explain it to me, Christian.  Tell me why you’ll follow Jensen into Donara when Jared is going to Pelagia and your sister is on the verge of war in Kandilihar?”

Kane let out a deep breath, staring at the way Murray’s hand was wrapped around his wrist for a few moments.  “I almost killed him,” Kane said quietly.  “When Jared asked for my sister’s hand, I damn near killed him.  I didn’t care that he was my prince or my friend or a fellow knight.  I was terrified for Danneel.  I know what being a Padalecki means in this world.  You knew the rumors of King Gerald but you have no idea what it was like for Jared and I knew that the king’s anger would fall on my sister if she accepted his proposal.  They pulled me off Jared before I could do any permanent harm, but I knew then that he was in love with my sister and I would never be able to keep them apart.  So when Jared was walking again, I bent my knee and gave my blessing.  I would have killed anyone else for touching him the way I did, but it was my sister,” Kane said, smiling softly as he looked up at Murray.  “I would have done anything for her.  Still would, don’t let her hear about that though.” 

Murray didn’t say anything but his grip on Kane’s wrist released and he reached out to lay his hand against the other man’s hip.  Kane closed his eyes and sighed.  “When King Gerald died, Jared closed himself up with my sister for three days of mourning as is our custom.  When she came out, Danneel pulled me away for the rest of the day and spent hours talking to me about the idea Jared had, of the return of peace in the Six Realms and the prosperity that had once been shared under the Crown of Kingdoms.  Jared never once wanted to wear the Jade Crown, but he wanted to bow to it, to see a High King restored to our realm and to share the wealth and compassion of his people.  It was crazy hearing it from a Kandili king but I’d fought side by side with Jared.  I knew what sort of man he was, no matter what rumor made him out to be.  When I went back to Jared, he asked me to do everything I could to see his vision come true.”

“A High King, again?  Most would say that was nothing but a fairytale,” Murray said incredulously.

Kane laughed.  “It was a fairytale, but one that I knew backward and forward.  It was a tale worth searching for though, a quest worthy of the greatest knights, and I knew that Jared had it in his power to find the truth behind it all.  I believed then and I believe now.  The best way I can protect my King, is to protect the vision that he has spent so long fighting for.  I will follow the man he loves – the man my sister loves – and I will do everything in my ability to find the Jade Crown.”

Murray closed his eyes then, his head leaning forward slightly before Kane mirrored his position, forehead coming to rest on the other knight’s.  “You aren’t coming because-”

Murray’s words faltered but Kane shivered in their absence.  “All I have to give anyone is my honor.  No matter what else my heart might desire, I could never soil the only thing I have of worth to offer.”

“You are so much more than your honor,” Murray whispered.

Kane let out a soft laugh, “I’m an old soldier who’s probably going to die before I get to see that niece or nephew of mine.  But if I can give my life to see that two Pelagian knights get to stand with my sister at the naming, then I’ll consider it a life well spent.”

Jensen closed his eyes, knowing that Kane meant exactly what he said.  He would give his life to make sure that Jensen and Murray made it back to Danneel.   He didn’t look back to the room to see Murray’s reaction to those words.  Jensen’s heart nearly broke at the thought of losing Kane, a man he’d come to call friend, and the idea of returning back to the Fiery Queen to give news of his death.  He let out a deep breath and resolved himself then.  He would make certain that his wife’s brother returned, no matter what happened.  Kane would have to survive because there was no way Jensen was facing Danneel without him.

**

The Prince of Lastoran stared down at the letter in his hands.  There was no reason he should have waited until the end of the day to see to this correspondence but he had.  There was no reason to think that the letter from a friend would have news of bad portent, but somehow, Sebastian LaRoche felt the need for a stiff drink before he cracked the Pelagian seal on the envelope.

Over the years, Sebastian had developed a friendly relationship with King Alan of Pelagia and he normally looked forward to letters from the older man.  When Sebastian had simply been a rebel, trying to stop an unjust way of life, Alan had been a strong supporter, financially and politically.  Without Alan’s political savvy and the funds he poured into Lastoran after the former ruler had been exiled and Sebastian had been named king, he wasn’t sure the nation would have been able to survive.  It had been hard enough trying to fend off the political attacks from Kandilihar back in those days.  In the end, Sebastian had no choice but to bend his knee to King Gerald and take on the role of Prince of a Kandili Protectorate, but Alan had continued to be a staunch supporter and they’d had many conversations since Gerald’s death, discussing what sort of man Gerald’s son would be.    

He’d turned out to be a man of outstanding character and one that Sebastian hoped to someday develop a good relationship with.  Their meetings at the beginning of Jared’s reign had been hard and Sebastian hoped to get to know the man in a less harsh light.  Alan had taken King Jared into his family when he’d agreed to let his youngest son be married off to the Kandili king and Sebastian knew that Alan would never marry his son off for political reasons.   

Sebastian took a long gulp of Ruvien wine before setting his glass down and reaching for the letter opener.  It only took a few momentsbefore then the parchment was in his hand, words a blur in Sebastian’s mind as he looked at his friend’s flowing script and strong signature. 

He took a deep breath and pushed away the folly of his thoughts.  There was no reason to think this was bad news.  The letter was welcome and Sebastian grew impatient with his own distractions so he began to read. 

It was a short letter and when he was done he poured a stronger brandy that he’d traded with Torugan travelers for.  He drank two fingers down quickly before rereading the letter again.  He wasn’t any more at ease after the second reading.  Though Alan was of good health and his family was well, the man’s words were of a coming darkness, his fears for his people and for the Six Lakes Realm itself.

Sebastian had felt the weight of the days and he doubted there was another ruler in the Six Lakes that hadn’t.  Gerald’s death had left a huge void in their lives and his son, while settling well into his throne, had not been the man they’d all expected.  He’d been calm and compassionate and so unlike the cold demeanor he had been known for that none of them had felt comfortable, each waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

Alan went past that though, to admit to a prophecy whispered by Alan’s brother.  Alan himself had witnessed it, along with Princess Megan of Donara and a Kandili knight.  It was of the rise of the rose in the midst of the storm, the return of the seer and the circles of vision, and the jade throne being empty no more.

It was troubling, no matter what else Alan said of it.  Sebastian wasn’t one to ponder words of prophecy.  His flights of fancy were far more practical than that, but this wasn’t something he could ignore.  And along with the letter was the warning that Alan had sent something important to him, something that Sebastian would have to take care of and return to Pelagia when he deemed the time was right. 

Sebastian poured two more fingers and sipped it slowly this time.  He held the letter up over the flame of the candle and watched it burn.  They were words that Sebastian felt were better unseen by others.  Words Sebastian felt would be better unsaid entirely. 

A knock at the door of his study pulled his attention away from the burning paper and he looked up to see his second in command step into the room. 

“Prince Sebastian, I think there is something you need to see.”

**

The departure from the Torugan camp was over quickly though Jensen didn’t think it could be fast enough for his tastes.  He wanted to be miles away from the camp just so he couldn’t see Jared’s figure in the distance, watching him walk away. 

“He does the same thing every time Danneel leaves, as does she,” Kane admitted as they rode quietly with Murray behind them and Abel scouting out ahead.  “I guarantee she’s on the wall right now, looking for your return.”

Jensen smiled at the reminder of his wife.  “Probably with a nurse running behind her, threatening to put her to bed.”

Kane laughed and Jensen was glad to have the man’s company.  No matter what else was happening between Kane and Murray, Kane knew Danneel better than anyone and it was like having a piece of her with him. 

“At least for a little while until Danneel has had enough of it and tells them off for following her around like she’s a sick colt.”

“I would like to be there to see her fight the healers off.  I could use a few hints.  They never seem to leave me alone and treat any scratch I gain like it’s a shattered limb.”

Kane’s smile brightened.  “Do you expect less?  Jared and Danneel had the castle in an uproar to prepare for the wedding.  For weeks after, the castle servants waited on your every whim, as Danneel and Jared reported them to be.  Your cravings and fancies were orders from the King and Queen for months after you arrived.  The healers are as terrified as everyone else of doing something to earn your displeasure, and thus the displeasure of the King and Queen Consort.”

Jensen knew his eyes were wide and his mouth had dropped open, but Kane continued to smile at him.  “I had no idea.”

“I know and so does everyone else who has served you since you became Prince Consort.  They were warned to keep you safe and healthy and you seemed to have charmed everyone else until they wanted to keep you safe.  So you can blame Danneel and Jared for some of it, but the people care a great deal for you. “

“Thank you,” Jensen said, taking that for the compliment it was. 

The conversation ended as Abel came back and talk of their trail ahead dominated their thoughts.

**

They had been days on the road from the Torugan camp and Kane could feel every mile of grit and dirt they’d covered.  He refused to let it show, though he didn’t think he was fooling Chad any.  Even Able was smiling at him and making comments about travel being for younger men.  If Jensen hadn’t smiled at the quip and dropped a hand to Kane’s shoulder he would probably have shown the scout just what it meant to have the sort of experience Kane had. 

Right now, Kane wanted nothing more than to return home.  They were on Kandili land but their path wouldn’t take them back to the castle where his sister waited.  He wanted to be there with her, to watch the child growing within her and to be there to protect her, but that wasn’t his lot in life.  He’d taken a different path a long time ago.

It didn’t change anything though as he sat beside Abel, watching foreign soldiers on his home soil.  Their company was well hidden from the passing men as they lie in wait in the tall grasses of the creek bed but Kane was ready for a charge just in case anyone found them.  He could see Abel was as well. 

The enemy took ten minutes to pass and Kane grew angrier about it as he watched.  Jensen and Murray were hidden back along the path, safe until Kane and Abel returned to them.  As the last of the men passed out of hearing distance, Kane motioned for Abel to begin back the way they’d come.

Jensen came forward as soon as Abel was in sight and Murray was right behind him, looking up at Kane, eyes taking him in for damages.  It warmed him as much as it bothered him.  He didn’t know what the thought could happen between himself and the other knight.  Murray deserved a better life than what Kane could give him and he’d never pulled the punches when it came to that fact.  Murray refused to listen though and Kane didn’t know what to do with that.  He didn’t know what to do with the confessions that seemed to spill between them all too often lately.  He knew his own heart but he hadn’t lied when he told his sister he wasn’t looking to settle down and make someone a widow.  He was a knight and he would always be there, standing between Jared and whatever came at him.  No one deserved to know that the person they loved would meet their ending with steel for someone else. 

Murray had no illusions about it though and when Kane had even hinted at that as a reason they shouldn’t be anything more than brothers-in-arms, he’d scoffed and asked how exactly he thought Murray would find his end.  The truth was they would both die in defense of the Kandilihar Triune and they knew it.  It was disconcerting but at the same time, Kane knew that his heart had already been handed over to the Pelagian knight long before this trip began. 

The Prince Consort was waiting patiently for the news and Kane didn’t keep him long.  “It’s a group of Ruvien mercenaries and Torugan soldiers.  From what I could hear as they passed, they were moving to join a larger party.”

Jensen closed his eyes and Kane could see the anger in him.  With everything that had happened, Kane figured it was only a matter of time before the journey caught up with him, but he’d yet to see the Pelagian falter.  Even in the face of his family’s death, he’d pulled himself together, giving himself only a small time to grieve with minimal comfort.  Kane knew what pushed him forward and he knew that Jared was moving for the same reason; to protect that which they loved that was still living. 

“We can’t go back to the castle, no matter how I want to.  Even if we could take the time, we can’t chance letting one of the Triune too close to a larger army,” Jensen said softly.  When he looked up, Kane could see the steal in his eyes.  “Can Abel get through them?”

Kane looked at the scout and nodded, “Absolutely.”  There was no hesitance in his voice and Abel smiled brighter for it.  When Kane looked at Jensen he knew the Prince Consort had asked the question for Abel’s sake.  He already knew that Jared would never have sent them off with a scout that would fail them.    

“You have a hard ride ahead of you, Abel,” Jensen said softly.  “You need to get to the nearest outpost to have word sent to the Queen.  She needs to know what is coming for her.  You know the route we intend to take to Donara.  Find us on it when you have the message sent.”

Kane watched as Abel stood and moved to his horse, checking it over before the hard ride began.  Kane approved of his attention to the horse first and then Murray was beside Abel, making sure he had a full canteen and rations until he returned back to them.  When Abel mounted, they stood around him.

“The eagle’s speed, scoutsman,” Kane said softly.

“And the wind at your back when you return,” Murray added.

“Fight fair and fight true, horseman,” Abel answered, nodding to both Kane and Murray.  When he looked at Jensen he sat up straighter.  “I will return as soon as my journey allows me, Your Highness.”

“Be safe and ride hard.  We’ll look for you in the Academy of Donara if not before.”

Abel bowed in his saddle then and he turned his horse and was off at a run. 

“You think you could ride faster?” Murray teased Jensen as he continued to watch Abel.

Jensen let out a half laugh.  “No.  No matter how Orator Beaver tries to teach me, I fear I will never be as skilled as the horsemen of Kandilihar, but I could wish I was tonight.  He rides towards my wife.”  He looked over at Kane then and smiled.  “Perhaps it’s better that way.  I’m not sure I would be able to withstand your sister’s pull if I were any closer.”

Kane smiled, thinking of the little girl who’d run behind him, hands caught up in his shirt tails to keep up, darting between horses and carriages to see the finery of visiting dignitaries and exotic people. 

“It’s a good thing we had Abel to save us both from the temptation.”

**

There weren’t many things that could make a man like Sebastian LaRoche speechless, but the sight before him had him gaping like a fish out of water.  He looked at his second in command at his side but he knew that Worthy was loyal and would know how to be discrete about what they were seeing. 

“Not what you expected to see, is it Your Highness?”

“I’m afraid it was exactly what I expected to see.”  The other man looked at him and Sebastian sighed.  “We should head down.  I’m sure the captain will have questions and I certainly hope he has some answers.”

They rode down the street heading towards the abandoned port and Sebastian wondered what he would find there.  The letter he’d received the day before from King Alan of Pelagia had said that he might send something to Sebastian.  After spending the night contemplating his words, the Lastoran Prince had come to a leap of logic that had proven true in the morning light.  He’d hoped his friend’s words were a simple case of paranoia but it looked like Alan had been right.

The end of the road led to the abandoned dock.  It had once held the small navy of the Lastoran people, but the navy was one of the first things Sebastian had targeted when he’d begun his rebellion.  He’d thought to rebuild it once he gained control of the kingdom but King Gerald of Kandilihar had come in and taken control before Sebastian could consolidate.  Gerald had forbidden them to rebuild the navy and Sebastian hadn’t wanted to challenge his authority.  He’d hoped in time to get out from under the Padalecki rule but Gerald had died before Sebastian had been able to do anything more.  He was still testing the waters with the new king though his correspondence with Alan had given him hope that King Jared was a different man than his father.

 He stopped his horse at the dock and dismounted.  Worthy did the same and they walked down the dock together to face the lone man waiting beside his ship at the pier’s end. 

“Prince Sebastian?”

Worthy stepped between the two of them and Sebastian settled a hand on his friend’s shoulder.  Rick had been his second in command since the rebellion and he was always concerned about Sebastian’s safety. 

“I am.  Captain Sheppard?”

“I believe you may have been expecting me.”

Sebastian stepped around Rick and offered the captain his hand.  The man shook it with a firm grip.

“I had hoped I wouldn’t.  The letter from Alan came yesterday though so I had not yet had time to wonder too much about the circumstances he was concerned about.  You have more recent news to share?”

“What did King Alan tell you about us?”

Sebastian took a look around their remote location and sighed.  “I would ask to take this conversation to a more private location, but I don’t think there is a more desolate location in all of Lastoran.  Still, I feel too exposed out like this.”

The captain nodded.  “My men took the liberty of restoring the Inn.  I’m sure we could talk there.”

Sebastian smiled then.  It was just like a group of sailors to find an empty port and begin filling the ale houses first.   The captain took his smile as permission and began leading them back down the pier.  The first building they came across had been an inn and Captain Sheppard led them there. 

The place was empty but it was obvious it had been used recently.  The floors had been swept clean and the tables and counters wiped down.  Chairs were sitting at attention while the busted windows had all been boarded up.  “I asked my men to wait inside the ship, in case there were any problems.”

Sebastian nodded as the captain went behind the bar and grabbed a bottle.  “The boys brew it themselves.  I can’t say it’s good, but unfortunately someone seems to have taken offense with the bar.”

Sebastian took a glass of the clear liquid and smiled.  “That would be me.  This port housed the navy and a large portion of the economic trade came through here.  It used to bring in more revenue than the rest of the country combined.  It was where they shipped out the textiles and I was trying to hit the slave businesses hard.  It worked.”

“Damn shame about the bar though,” Sheppard said with a mournful look around.

“That it is,” Sebastian held his glass up and they clinked softly together when Sheppard brought his up.  It was a harsh brandy and if Sebastian hadn’t grown up in the back alley of taverns he might have been caught off by it.  Sheppard smiled as he set the glass down, seemingly impressed that he hadn’t spit the harsh liquor up immediately.

“Do I need another for the news you bear?”

Sheppard poured another glass for them both and set the bottle on the table between them.  “My orders were to try to find the root of the pirate problem along the Pela Sea.  There have always been some raiders along the coast, but lately there has been an increase and they started testing us on our own waters.  The king decided it was time to find out who was behind it.”

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Not exactly.  My orders were specific, to find the source and report home.  If, for any reason, we were hindered in our investigation and could not return to the king, we were to report here.  To you.  We were not to engage in any acts of warfare, no matter what circumstances occurred, except if attacked ourselves.”

“And here we are.  What happened?”

“We found the pirate fleet, seven vessels that were made for war.  They were no match for my ships, but my orders were clear.  The king wanted to know where they came from so we followed discretely, which takes some doing on the sea I tell you.  We were lucky that the pirates don’t know the coast as well as we do or it would have been a lost cause.  We followed closer until we realized we were being led back to Pelagia.  We hid at the Kandilihar port and rented fishing ships to follow the rest of the way.  What we found still makes my blood boil.”

Sheppard down the glass in front of him and Sebastian tried to keep from thinking the worst but he had no illusions that the next words could be good.

“The pirate ships surround the Pelagian Island.  The flag that flies over the castle is Torugan.”

They stared at one another, Sheppard silent in his anger and Sebastian overwhelmed with grief.  Alan would never allow another flag to fly over his castle.  He was either captured within his own castle, or dead.

“It is a long road from Toruga to Pelagia and the Torugans have no great love of water.  Why would they seek open war with Alan?  They have to know that Kandilihar will come to his aid,” Sebastian wondered aloud.

“Perhaps it is what they want.  If they’ve taken Pelagia, they need only to defeat Kandilihar and the entire Six Lakes realm is under King Stuart’s rule.”

Sebastian gave a short burst of laughter.  “I have waited for King Jared to show the type of ruler he is.  He has been fair and kind and if I must bend my knee to a man he has shown himself just.  I will not bow to a Torugan army just because I was forced to bow to King Gerald.  If Toruga wants a fight, they’ll find it in Lastoran.”  He downed his own second glass then, offering a silent wish for Alan’s safety before he drank it.  “I’ll have supplies sent to you and your men while we plan our next move.  I have a network of merchants and tradesmen in the world.  I will have them focus on the Torugan conflict.”

“You have spies in the other kingdoms?”

Sebastian nodded.  “Knowledge is power my friend and I have no desire to find Lastoran ripped out from under me because I was not well enough prepared.”

Sheppard smiled and it was wicked and dark.  “I think Alan sent me to the right place after all.”

**

There was never a day as Jared rode that his thoughts weren’t constantly turning towards his husband and wife.  Danneel was safe behind castle walls, but Stuart’s plans for the Six Lakes had made her a target.  He couldn’t forget Megan’s words either and he knew his sister was capable of killing Danneel to take the Kandilihar throne.  He was afraid his own people would believe whatever lies she spun and they would be all too relieved to have another Padalecki on the throne once the Triune was disposed of.

Jensen was probably in Donara already.  Jared had been slowed in his travels by the size of the group he moved with and the density of the Pelagian mainland’s forests, but Jensen would have neither of those troubles.  He traveled in a group of four through the plains of Kandilihar.  Kane and Abel knew the lands as well as Jared did so they’d have taken him through as quickly as possible to avoid any chance encounters with the Torugan army that Lehne warned them about. 

He hoped Jensen was safe but he couldn’t allow himself to worry too much.  He had Murray and Kane with him.  If there were ever two men who could get his husband through enemy territory and back again it was them.  Not only were they dedicated to Jensen, but their skills were legendary and well deserved.  Abel was dedicated to his king and he was one of the best scouts in the Six Lakes Realm.  Jensen had a better chance of getting to his destination than Jared had of getting to Pelagia and removing his sister from the throne.  But then, the hardest part of Jensen’s mission would not be in the destination but in finding the truth of the Jade Crown and finding it before Megan found him.

“Sir, we’ve arrived.”

Jared nodded to Benedict as he delivered the message before falling in line behind Jared.  He seemed happy to have reached the camp, but then scouts were always happy when they got to their destination.  They never seemed to want to stay long though before they were off to the next destination. 

“Lehne?”

The Torugan was walking at his side, taking advantage of the slower pace they were traveling to abandon the mount they’d given him.  Some men would feel the need to ride so that they weren’t looking up at Jared but the Torugan men didn’t seem impressed with that sort of power play, even if they were intrigued by the horses.

“Where would you like us to wait?”

They’d agreed along the road that the Torugan men needed to wait outside of the village.  Not only would the tensions rise between the Pelagian and the Torugan, but anyone coming across the village would notice an army of Torugan soldiers and rumors would begin to spread. 

“There is a clearing to the east, not far from here.  It should be large enough for the Torugan to set up comfortably,” Benedict offered. 

Jared nodded and Lehne was off to tell the others.  He came back as Jared broke into the opening of the village along with Ruden. 

“Are you ready?” he asked Ruden.  There were bound to be people that wanted to harm the Torugan but Jared knew his escape with Lehne and his plans to gain the help of the Torugan would be known in the village.  He hoped it kept them from conflict.  Jared knew his men were well trained but there was no way to know who else had joined the camp or what had been happening since they’d left for Toruga.    

Ruden nodded.  “It is time to meet the King of Pelagia.  If he is anything like his brother I will be impressed.”

Jared smiled at that.  “They are similar in many ways, though I think you’ll find Joshua interesting in his own right.”

It was true.  Joshua had a fascinating mind.  He understood battle tactics without having fought them and was willing to be advised by those that had.  He had a firm grasp on politics and a way to sway not only his people but the minds of ambassadors and orators as well.  Jared was grateful to have him as an ally and blessed to be able to call the man brother still. 

The rest of the walk was in silence as Jared and his company walked into the village.  A delegation of men was waiting for him, Knight Pellegrino heading it.

“We had word of your arrival,” Mark said as Jared dismounted before him.  “We have a barn down the road where we’re keeping the horses and arms from view.  King Joshua is waiting for you and your council at the Inn.”

Jared clasped arms with the knight as others came forward to help his men dismount and lead their horses to be cared for.  Cohen stayed at his side, along with Benedict and the two Torugans.  “Is there any news from Kandilihar?”

“Collins has not come back yet, though we’ve sent scouts to gain what news we could.  There is still no sign of the Pelagian navy, though King Joshua has said nothing of it.  I think he knows where they are or he simply doesn’t trust me enough to confide in me about it,” the knight said.  There was no reprimand in his voice but an honest acknowledgement of the fact that he was a soldier in foreign land, tied to a king that was not his own while Jared was gone.  “The pirate ships that once caused trouble along the Pela Sea are all moving up and down the Pelagian coast.  We believe they are looking for signs of Joshua and his navy.  There have also been sightings of Torugan soldiers crossing the Kandili plains.  A company of Ruvien mercenaries were seen in the southern foothills before they turned north.”

Jared sighed.  As much as he’d hoped Lehne had misunderstood his sister’s intent, it didn’t seem he had.  “And word of the Pelagian castle?”

“Pelagia still flies the Torugan banner, but there is another now.”  There was disgust in Mark’s voice.  “Sir, she flies the Kandilihar flag now, but the crown of the Triune has been removed, replaced with a single rose.”

Jared closed his eyes and took a deep breath, understanding why the other knight felt as he did.  The flag could mean any number of things but it named the Kandilihar bloodline behind the massacre of the Pelagian family.  To those that knew them, it would point clearly to Megan.  She was not only behind the schemes to kill Jensen and his family, but she was proud of it, flaunting what she’d done with her own personal flag.

He placed his hand on Mark’s shoulder.   “We had best see the rightful flag takes its place soon then.”  There were no more words exchanged but they walked quickly to the inn where Joshua was waiting.

There was little commotion once they were inside.  Joshua greeted Jared as he had before, an embrace to show his support of the Kandili king and a gesture that let Jared know he was still welcomed by his brother-in-law.

“You bring new friends to our table,” Joshua said as he pulled back, eyeing the Torugan.

Jared smiled as he looked back at the other man.  “Shama Ruden, may I introduce you to King Joshua of Pelagia.”

Ruden bowed to the king slightly but made no other concession to the man’s titles.  Joshua knew enough about Torugans to understand and he let his gaze settle on Jared for an instance before he nodded to the Torugan in return. 

“If I read your entry into our camp correctly, we have business to discuss,” Joshua said, getting straight to the heart of the matter.  It was one of the things Jared had loved about his dealings with Alan as a king.  He had power in his hands but he had no use for power games.  He spoke his mind and came to the point of things quickly.  Jensen and Joshua had both learned much from him and Jared ached that he wouldn’t be able to have his father-in-law to join in council in the years to come.

“May I begin by saying that the Torugan I come with feel great shame in what has been done to your kingdom; we do not betray our allies.  We cannot undo this shame, but we will do what we can to right what should never have been done.”

Joshua took a deep breath before he waved them over to the table.  “I have no time for my grief now.  I have a kingdom to protect.  I thank you for your words though.”

They settled into the table and Jared looked at the map of the Six Lakes Realm spread out before them.  His eyes sought out the Kandilihar castle automatically before he realized his fingers had begun trailing the path to Donara.

Joshua reached forward and touched his hand lightly.  “What in Donara has your attention, Jared?”

Jared took a deep breath as he sat down, watching the other men surrounding the king.  Before he could speak, another figure entered the room and Jared recognized him immediately.  “Ambassador Pileggi?”

The man came forward to join them and the ambassador bowed his head in greeting.  “King Jared, I had heard you were in camp and wished to make my presence known. “

“You’ve come just in time for Jared’s news,” Joshua said before Jared could ask any questions. 

Jared smiled at the other man.  “It is good to see you safe Ambassador.  It would seem the road from Ruvien to Pelagia is no longer safe.”

Pileggi nodded.  “I have heard so, though I was in the castle itself when the Torugan attack came.  I have never been more grateful for being Ruvien as I was that day.  I was with the servants, playing cards, when the soldiers emptied the diplomatic rooms and killed the envoys.”

“You were lucky to have escaped my sister’s justice,” Jared said solemnly.

“I am grateful to have found friends in the kitchen,” Pileggi corrected.  “They saw me safely out of the castle before the Torugans finished bringing in their supplies.”

“Jared,” Joshua cut off any further questions and he realized how hard the conversation was on the king.  He no doubt wanted to hear what Pileggi had to say, but he needed to get this done first before he could turn back to the castle and the other deaths that he had not witnessed.  “What news have you?”

“As you can see, I have convinced Shama Ruden and his people to join us.  They have broken faith with King Stuart and have come to see an end to his reign.”  There was silence at that pronouncement but Ruden gave a slightly huff of laughter.

“You convinced me?”

It was the opening Jared had hoped to get and he looked back at Joshua.  “Jensen convinced him.”

“You found my brother?  Where is he?  Why was he not brought here immediately?”

“Jensen’s path has taken a different road than ours, no matter how much I would have rather brought him to safety.”

Joshua reached forward then, his fingers trailing the path of Donara the way Jared’s had. 

“Yes, he is heading to Donara.  Jensen has been experiencing nightmares for months now.”

“Not nightmares,” Joshua said softly, eyes still on the map.  “Visions, you mean.”

“You know of it?”

“Father and I had often spoken of it though it was just a hope.  He had no prophetic dreams while he lived in the castle, but my father believed that prophecy could only be spoken at the right time and place, that Jensen would never have the gift of foresight unless he left Pelagia.”  Joshua smiled then and the guilt he had begun to feel dissipated.  “We never intended to let him leave, but there is no way to contain the human heart and we knew when he left that it might well start then.  Father was going to speak to him, when you arrived.  He said in Jensen’s last letter he spoke of dark dreams and we knew he was having premonitions, the same as my father and I.”

“He didn’t know?”

“I think he did, though we never spoke of it.  It is … a blessing and a curse.  Being who we are is enough to cause anyone nightmares and we didn’t want to hint of truth when they could simply be unpleasant dreams.  We intended to speak to him once we knew they were true.  What does he see, Jared?”

Jared looked around the room at the men Joshua had chosen to stand by his side.  Benedict and Cohen were behind him and they had traveled with Jensen long enough to know the truth.  “Darkness and ash.  His dreams were shadowy and haunted by an unknown storm coming against us.  He saw the Pela sea crash over the plains of Kandilihar.  He saw my castle in siege with my Queen and child above it, held by chains.  He saw the Jade crown and believed he knew where it lay hidden.”

“It is as we hoped and feared then,” Joshua said softly.  “My father and I, and many generations before us, have had omens and premonitions of our kingdom.  Jensen though has always seemed the most sensitive to the people around him.  He could sense the mood of an entire village simply by walking into it.  We feared he would get the gift stronger than us all and it seems his visions are not bound by the kingdom he grew up in.”

“He is traveling to the Donara Academy to see if he can find the Jade Crown.  Murray and Kane are with him, as well as my scout, Abel.”

“He is sure to be safe with Murray at his side.”

Jared smiled at Joshua’s reassurance and gave his own.  “Kane will keep them both safe.”

Joshua seemed to take that as truth and nodded.  Jared wanted to ask more about the visions and why they hadn’t said anything else to Jensen but it wasn’t the time or place for that and Joshua pulled back, sitting in his chair as they looked at the map. 

“Then let us turn to the fight ahead of us.”

**  
  


“I feel like an idiot,” Kane murmured as he walked into the room.  Jensen couldn’t help but smile, or notice the way Murray eyed the other knight in the form fitting trousers of the Lastoran fashion.  He looked like a very reputable businessman with the white long sleeved button up shirt and brown vest, but it was a far cry from the usual clothing that Pelagia, Kandilihar, and Donara wore.  Jensen was afraid if they remained dressed in their usual style that they would be too easily noticed.  Kane and Murray were both swordsmen of great renown and Jensen was a Pelagian prince and a third of the ruling Kandilihar Triune.  It was too much to hope that they could go unnoticed without some sort of disguise. 

Murray had complained about the clothes as well, commenting about the lack of movability in the vest, but Jensen overrode his objections.  They were there to be unseen, not to fight.    

“You look entirely respectable,” Jensen said with a smile.  “It is too bad your sister isn’t here to see you like this.”  Kane glared at him and Jensen tilted his head.  “Maybe I could find an artist to capture your-”

“You wouldn’t…”  Kane looked to Murray for confirmation and Jensen couldn’t help but laugh. 

“I wouldn’t, but your face was worth the jest.”

Kane grumbled as he walked out the door but Murray was smiling when Jensen looked at him.  He thought of teasing his mentor as well – a comment or two about the way Kane looked would probably provoke the same look of shocked fear in his friend – but he had yet to find a way to bring up the complicated relationship between the two.  He wished he’d had the time to discuss it with Jared before they’d parted but they had barely had time to be with one another outside of the confines of duty and he hadn’t had time to bring up the two men, especially since they seemed to be dealing with each other perfectly fine. 

Jensen knew Murray and he knew that if his mentor had set his sights on the Kandilihar knight then nothing would change his mind.  Kane had yet to realize that and Jensen decided it was better to let them figure it out themselves. 

“It is a much different feel,” Murray mentioned again, twisting in his new clothes. 

“I have to admit that I had hoped the two of you wouldn’t attract attention in Lastoran clothing, but the change in clothing has just pointed out how pretty the two of you are.  Perhaps we should have given you Torugan gear, complete with scarves to cover your faces?”

Murray scowled at him and Jensen laughed.  It was entirely true.  Jensen and Joshua had often teased one another about how pretty they would look in the formal outfits of the Lastoran.  To fit in they’d all had to clean up and shave off the beards and stubble that had grown in their travels and Kane had been forced to tie a strip of leather around his hair to hold it back.  They didn’t look at all like the knights that they were, but they would both draw eyes and there was nothing he could do about that.  He refused to tease further because he could recognize well enough that he was attractive dressed up as well.  He might not have Jared’s width of shoulder, nor his dimples, but Jared hadn’t been the first to compare his eyes to jade or liken his smile to the sun. 

“We should probably get moving,” Murray said instead of answering him.

Jensen stood and looked around the small apartment they’d rented for the next few days.  They had gold a plenty to spend but they hadn’t wanted to flaunt that.  Instead, they picked a moderate apartment that would allow them the privacy they needed without drawing attention to their status. 

Abel had caught up to them on the way and he was already at the library, securing a quiet corner where they could do their work.  Kane was out on the street, keeping a discrete eye on everything.  He’d follow behind them a bit to make sure no one was following them.  When Jensen walked out of the building and onto the street he was still surprised by the amount of noise that assaulted his ears.  The street was busy with horse drawn carriages constantly moving past.  He remembered his lessons of Donara and his father telling him they thought very highly of their progressive technologies but little of what they were leaving behind

For a moment, the thought of his father made Jensen felt homesick.  He wanted to return back to the castle of Pelagia and run back to his father and mother.  He wanted to bask in Joshua’s approval and laugh with his other brothers about their sisters.  He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to push back the pain and anger and fear.  He couldn’t lose himself in the grief today.  It happened, sometimes, in the middle of the night when he knew it was only Murray and Kane watching over him, and he allowed his tears to fall and his heart to ache for those he’d lost and those he feared for.  He couldn’t give in to it now though on the busy Donaran street.

He felt Murray’s hand on his arm and he shook it away, straightening his back as he stepped down into the street.  Murray was at his side, but Jensen didn’t bother to look to see if Kane was behind them somewhere.  He knew Murray had an eye on the other man and that Kane was good enough to get out of any trouble that came at him, even if he was dressed in fancy clothes.

There were four academy libraries in the center of the Donaran capital and the oldest held the scrolls and stories collected from the hill people that had once wandered from the shores of the Pela Sea to the Divergence of the mountain ranges.  It was in those stories that Jensen hoped to gain insight into his hunt for the Jade crown. 

The apartment they rented was close to the library so their journey was quick.  When they arrived Jensen headed towards the back of the library where a set of stairs led them down.  The oldest documents were kept in the lower levels of the library so they headed down to find Abel. 

The lights on the lower levels were far dimmer since they had no windows and it gave them a more oppressive feel.  Jensen felt the weight of his task more when he was there and the others seemed to sense it as well.  Murray stayed closer in the halls of the library and Kane watched the room with an intensity that spoke of his concern. 

Jensen smiled when they found Abel at a table in the back corner.  There were scrolls already set out on the table for them and Jensen took a seat at the end of the table.  “You’ve been busy,” Jensen said softly to Abel. 

“I asked for the oldest scrolls they had.  I figured it would be a good place to start and if you jump around the timeline of the hill people it might keep people from figuring out what you’re really looking for.  I’ll go ask for the most current writings in a little while.”

Jensen smiled as the other man for thinking of it.  “What did you tell them we were doing?”

“You are researching the hill people since they’re the most common ancestor for the different nations, so that you can give a speech on commonality and betterment of the Six Lakes Realm.”

Jensen looked at him, wide eyed for a moment before Kane laughed lightly.  “Orator Beaver had a strong hand in Abel’s training.  Blame him.”

“The Orator thinks a knight needs to know more than arms.  Would you disagree?” Abel asked Kane. 

The other man smirked.  “I bet my sword arm can beat your silver tongue.”

Abel shrugged.  “You’d have to get me into a fair fight first.”

“Gentlemen, the task at hand please,” Murray interrupted the two. 

Abel looked apologetic but Kane smirked at Murray before he walked away, checking the perimeter of the room to be sure that there were no nasty surprises lying among the shelves of books and scrolls.

“What are we looking for today, Your Highness?” Abel asked.

“Remember to call me Jensen.  I don’t want to be noticed if we can help it and titles will draw another’s ear into the conversation immediately.”  Abel looked properly chastised so Jensen continued.  “I’m not sure where to start.  I wish I knew Daren’s stance in all this.  I’m sure he could point us to the right documents if I could trust him enough to ask.”

“You doubt his stance when Megan was behind the attack on Pelagia?” Murray asked.

“Daren was never a warrior and he never wanted power.  The Donaran Academy Council rules Donara.  Prince Daren is a convenient figure head.  He has little power here.  Gerald wanted to dissolve the council when he took the kingdom as his own but Daren was quick to defend their way of governing.  I don’t think he knew what his wife was planning.”

“You think she just ran off on her own?” Murray asked. 

Jensen sighed.  “Daren and Megan had an arranged marriage.  There was no love between them, though I do believe Daren had a certain amount of affection for his young wife.”

“It was not returned,” Kane said as he joined them again.  “Megan was horrified at being forced to marry Daren.  She expected to grow up and marry someone more like a Kandili Knight than a scholar.  She never spoke poorly of Daren in front of her family, but she did to the men that protected her.  She spoke to Carlson frequently about how unhappy she believed she would be.  They kept a correspondence for some time once she was married.  It wasn’t until the Council appointed her as an ambassador and let her travel that she was happy again.  We had all hoped that having something of importance would be enough for her to overlook how unhappy she was in her marriage.”

“Did Jared know?” Jensen asked.

Kane shook his head.  “Jared opposed the marriage vehemently.  The King had already taken the Donaran capital and there was no reason to marry Megan for political power.  I believe King Gerald wanted to appease the Academy so they would share their inventions with him.  Too often they had balked about showing their advances with him and he wanted to ensure their cooperation.  Jared did his duty to his father and it was no fault of his that Megan was unhappy.  We didn’t add to his guilt by telling him of the letters.”

Jensen nodded.  “Her letters to Jared never spoke of trouble and the last letter she sent to him spoke of how happy her travels had made her.  She was very good at letting people see only what she wanted them to see.  My hope is that she did the same with Daren and that he has had no hand in this.”

“I could find out,” Abel offered.

“How?”

“No one knows a ruler like his servants.  I could work my way into the staff.  The kitchen is shorthanded right now and I could fit in perfectly.”

“How do you plan on fitting in?” Murray asked.  “You’re a knight, not a serving man.”

Abel winked at Kane as he answered.  “In a kingdom where a stablehand’s daughter becomes queen and his son a knight of renown, a kitchen girl’s son can aspire to greater things as well.”

Jensen was surprised to find out that Abel had been raised a servant but then it made sense that Orator Beaver had taken an interest in him, as he had done with Kane.  He trained them beyond their arms so that no one would see the difference in their upbringing; just as Orator Beaver had taken to speaking with Murray and himself to teach them the difference of Kandilihar and Pelagian customs and training.

“Any information you gain would be gratefully received, though do not put yourself in danger for it.”

Abel smiled and Jensen knew the scout would do everything he could to get them the information.  He was still considered young by the others though he was one of their best scouts.  To have their trust as he did meant much to him. 

“I’ll leave you to your studies then.  I have to see to a job.”

Jensen watched him go and was surprised when Kane broke the silence.  “If there is a way to find it out, Abel will do so.”

“I know he will.  He idolizes his King,” Jensen said with a fond smile.  Most of the knights that fought at Jared’s side had grown up fighting at his side.  For the younger ones, they looked at him with hero worship as he led them in training and exercises.  In the field, they followed his orders without thought or question.

Kane snorted and Murray was giving a soft shake of his head though he was smiling as he spread out the scroll in front of him.  “Abel would do anything Jared asked of him, but he’ll get the information because you asked it.  He idolizes you as well.”

Jensen was taken aback by the comment but when Kane walked away and he was left with a smirking Murray, Jensen let out a sharp breath.  “Shut up, Murray,” he said to his friend.  Murray let out a small laugh and Jensen took one of the scrolls and set it in front of him.  “We have some work to do.”

**   

It was easy to slip into the room without notice.  It was a war council and the men were so caught up in their soldiers and schemes that she was dismissed as soon as they caught her eye.  Her brother was the worst of them.  Jesina knew that Joshua was caught up in the need to avenge the death of their loved ones and in gaining back his throne, but she wished he’d remember that she was still there.  If Jensen had been there, he would have.  He’d always been the one to notice when someone was upset or sad.  Today, Jesina was barely able to keep her head up.  There was a Torugan camp not far from where they were and there were Kandili soldiers in the village with them and none of them were her own people. 

Pelagia had a small army but a large navy.  Neither the army nor navy had been seen since the Torugan flag showed on their castle walls and Jesina was surrounded by strangers. 

“Your Highness?”

She let out a deep breath as she looked up and found King Jared beside her.  The rest of the men were still talking battle strategies and how to get into the castle without destroying it but Jared had left them and was looking at her with concern.

“Your Majesty,” she curtsied slightly but stopped with Jared’s hand wrapped around her arm. 

“There is no need to lower yourself, sister.”

There was pain in his eyes then and she couldn’t imagine what he was feeling.  His own flesh and blood had betrayed him and the only family he had left was what remained of hers.  She gave him a watery smile but remained silent for fear that her tears would fall.

“Have you come to give us aid?” Jared asked with a smile.  “I did not think Alan included his daughters in his war council but I could be wrong.”

She couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her.  “I am no warrior.”

Jared nodded.  “Neither is the Fiery Queen, but she would have my head if I excluded her from the discussion.  Perhaps you have something to contribute that none of us are aware of yet.  Or perhaps, it would ease your mind to see what we are planning?”

She took his offer for what it was.  If she’d been in the castle, she’d have her hands full with the running of the castle and entertaining foreign emissaries.  As the youngest, she had yet to receive the full weight of her position, but she was well trained and was gaining the experience to do so when the castle had been taken.  Jared was offering her something to do when she was floundering and at a loss.  When he held his hand out for her, she took it and he led her back to the table.  Joshua watched her approach to the table with surprise, but as Jared sat the Torugan warrior at his side stood, offering his seat.

“Thank you,” she said as graciously as she could.    Although it had been a Torugan knife that had spilt their family blood, it was a Kandili woman behind it all.  Her father had raised her better than to blame the men in the room for it.  Ruden had come forward to help them regain their home and she hoped her words conveyed her thanks for that as well.

The Torugan watched her for a moment, searching her eyes and she would have blushed if he hadn’t dropped his gaze when he did.  “We were discussing the back stair on the beach,” he said, pointing to the map in front of them.  “And whether it would make a suitable entrance into the castle.”

“Jared, you escaped that way, didn’t you?” She asked.  When he nodded, she shook her head.  “I know the door is hidden, but they must have figured out there was something there.  Surely they’ll have it guarded?”

Joshua nodded.  “That is a fear, but if we could win the door it would allow us an entry into the castle without having to fight over the outer gates.”

“It would be a poor battle,” she said softly.  She wasn’t a warrior but her father made certain they were all versed in the arts of war.  “The men could only go up one at a time and it is a steep climb.  They would be tired as they came up the stairs and there is no place to amass an army.”

Jared nodded.  “And that is why I feel we need to take the gates.  There is no way to get into the castle that would allow our numbers to be of advantage.”

“And you think the gates would give you that?” she asked.

Jared stood, walking around the room.  The others watched and it gave Jesina a chance to watch them.  Joshua was concerned but there was barely contained anger under his skin.  Jesina didn’t think Jared knew him well enough to see it, but she was very close to her brother and it was plain as day to her.  The Ruvien ambassador was with them but he continued to stare down at the map, his eyes on his own country.  Pileggi was a good man, as honest as a diplomat could be, but the Ruvien people weren’t fighters and she could tell from watching him that he feared they would ask for Ruvien help, and he would have to deny it. 

Lehne, the Torugan who had helped Jared escape, was watching the king but he cut his eyes to Ruden often.  Lehne had broken trust with his people first, stealing Jared out from under his sister, and she thought he acted as a man on trial, waiting for the verdict of his guilt.

Ruden was another thing all together though.  He was calm and composed, listening and steady as Jared paced.  When he looked at her, his eyes widened slightly and he gave her a small smile.  She smiled back, unprepared for the race her heart suddenly undertook. 

“My father and I debated long and hard about how to take Pelagia,” Jared confessed.  Joshua’s jaw tightened though she doubted it was news to him.  Their father had often discussed what would happen if King Gerald turned his attention to Pelagia.  “We were never able to find a satisfactory way in.  We will lose men no matter how we take the gates.”

“Then why do it?” Jesina asked. 

They all turned to stare at her and she took a deep breath.  “I simply mean that Megan gained the gates without fighting.  Why can’t we?”

“There is no one here that she would trust and I won’t send men for her to butcher.”  Jared’s voice was hard and Jesina ached for him.  She wished Jensen were there to comfort them both. 

“She would take me,” she said, before she realized what she was saying.

“Jesina, you don’t know what you’re saying,” Joshua countered.

She stood, looking down at her brother, anger overriding the grief that had been holding her.  “Megan has long confided in me, hoping to gain my affection.  She has often said we should be sisters, that she should have been married into Pelagian blood rather than Donaran.  She often befouled her husband’s name and I listened, as was my station, trying to placate her while she was here on Donaran business.  She believes she understands me and that we have a connection beyond blood.  She will not kill me until she has a chance to try to convince me to join her side in this.  If I was captured I would be taken to her and I could convince her that I was swayed into believing as she does.”

“What does she believe?” Jared asked softly.

“That she is the rightful heir of the Six Lakes Realm.  She believes it is men’s weakness that caused the downfall of the High King and that a Queen should sit on the throne – on all thrones.”

Jared shook his head.  “She never spoke of being a queen.  She was content to be my sister.”

“Perhaps,” Jesina said, moving away from the table to where Jared had been pacing.  She put her hand on his arm and smiled sadly.  “She loved her brother, but she hated the position she was in.  When your father died, she had no one to blame but you.  She will not be content to be anything but a queen.”

Jared shook his head.  “She is delusional if she thinks we can let this go without response, but I will not ruin the only sister we have left,” he looked back to Joshua then.  “Even if Megan did trust Jesina, there is no way we could exploit that.”

“We have men on the inside,” Jesina said.  “We just need to get the gate open.  I could do that.”

“You could get killed,” Jared snarled.  “I won’t have any more Pelagian blood on my hands.”

When he turned away she knew she was dismissed and she let out a little huff of annoyance before she turned her attention back to the new area of discussion.  Ruden was watching her though, silent and intense and she knew then that she just might have an ally of her own. 

**

The morning dawned bright and King Joshua of Pelagia hoped it was a portent of the coming day.   There had been little enough good news lately and their latest debate had lasted well into the night.  As much as they talked and disputed the merits of each way to get into his family castle, it was too well built for an external take over.  His sister had made a good point, that a small group of people inside the castle could open the gates but it was still a long shot and Joshua wasn’t willing to gamble his men’s lives like that. 

“Good morning.”

Joshua looked up from his breakfast as Jared stepped into the room.  King Jared of Kandilihar walked into the room and Joshua felt himself relax a little.  Most of the men looked at Jared as if he might be the enemy – a Kandilihar knight coming with Torugan warriors – but he was Jensen’s husband and Jared understood what was still at stake.  Joshua could be himself when it was just the two of them and he wouldn’t be judged for it.  They could forget, for a minute, that they were two kings fighting for their realm.

“You slept well?” Joshua asked as Jared walked to the bar and found the tea waiting.  He poured himself a cup and sat down next to Joshua in the empty inn.  It wouldn’t be long before the rest came. 

“As well as can be expected,” Jared answered as he took a seat next to Joshua.  “To be honest, I’d prefer to be back at home, in bed with my spouses.”

Joshua let out a small laugh at that.  “I don’t blame you.  I would prefer you were there as well.  At least then I would know my little brother was safe.”

Jared nodded and Joshua knew that the smile hid the same amount of concern Joshua had.  They both loved Jensen.  Joshua had seen it when the two married and he’d never hoped for more than that for his siblings.

The door opened a moment later and one of the young guardsmen came in, moving directly to the table.  “Your Majesty, this was left for you.”

“Where?” Joshua asked as he took the folded paper from the young man.

“Princess Jesina’s room.”

“What?”

“No one had spoken to her this morning so we went in to check.  We brought this to you as soon as it was found.”

Joshua sent the man off and tried to still his heart.  His name was written on the front in Jesina’s elegant script.  She had the best written hand he’d ever seen and she took pride in it, as in all the things she did.  He looked up at Jared for a moment before opening the letter.

He took a deep breath and tried not to let his hands shake.  There was no reason for this letter, except if Jesina had done something stupid.  It was unlike her and yet, as he read her words, so like the young woman who had pretended to faint in his arms in hopes of protecting them, of the little girl who’d run after her brothers, trying to be brave and strong and be everything she thought her brothers were.  She wasn’t running like a child into a playground though, but going head first into a war with a lone man to protect her.

“She’s gone to Megan,” Joshua finally said into the silence.

“What?  When?”

“She snuck out after the council last night.  Apparently she was interrupted in her preparations and she is being accompanied by Ruden into your sister’s hands.”

Jared was as stunned as he was.  “Ruden went with her?”

“Yes.  Apparently he has vowed to keep her safe.  We are supposed to have men watching for her sign on the gates in three day’s time.  She will signal and open the gates for us.  If she does not signal, we are to return each night until she is able to gain control of the castle gates.”

Jared shook his head.  “Your sister is mad.  I have no idea what Megan will do to her.”

“No, not mad,” Joshua said with a sigh.  He was beside himself with worry, but he knew his little sister better than that.  “You did not call it madness when Jensen chose to storm into Donara on his own with only three men to guard him.  Jesina is doing what she thinks is best, to gain our home back and to do it with as little bloodshed as possible.  She is Jensen’s sister today,” Joshua said with a small smile, “and she is every bit her father’s daughter.  If she believed that Megan would take her in, then I will have faith in that.  I will see my sister on the gates.”

Joshua stood and Jared stood with him.  “Pelligrino!”  The Kandilihar knight was at the doorway at once and Joshua couldn’t help but be grateful.  When Jared had left a company of men with him, he’d never thought to rely on them so heavily, yet here he was.  “Send for the others.  We make plans now.”

The knight was gone as soon as he was done speaking and Joshua turned to Jared.  “We need to have everything ready.  Megan will come through and our army will be there to retake the castle.”

And Joshua would be sure that all their men knew their first priority was his sister’s safety.  And once they had the castle and they were all safe, he was likely to throw her in the highest tower to keep her from doing any other such things ever again.

**

The faded scroll tried to roll up at the ends as Jensen rolled the parchment out and he quickly grabbed one of their books to hold the top in place.  He rolled the bottom back out and Murray handed him one of the small paper weights that were resting on the table.  He didn’t know where Kane had found them but after their first day in the library he’d come back with a handful.  Every time they arrived, Kane disappeared and reappeared with them.  Murray had started disappearing too but he never seemed to find where Kane was getting them from and Jensen knew his friend well enough to see the competition in the action. 

“This the one?”

Jensen sighed.  It was the same each time he opened a new scroll.  Somehow they expected him to know he had the right one just by looking at it.  At least this one was in the common tongue and not the old language.  Jensen knew it, as all his siblings did, but it took time for him to translate it and he was growing impatient with the whole process. 

“We’ll know when I reach the end of it.”

Kane grumbled but he walked away, presumably to check their surroundings but there had been no one in the lower level of the library when they arrived and they had a view of the stairs.  No one had come down in that time.  Jensen figured it was Kane’s way of passing the time, but the knight headed up the stairs instead of walking around their level.

“He’s damn impatient for a knight,” Jensen said softly.

Murray let out a small laugh.  “As are you, but his heart is in the right place.  Abel might be convinced that no one knows you’re here but that doesn’t mean it’s true.  Prince Daren and the Academy Council might be unaware but they aren’t the only people we need to be concerned about.”

“I’m aware of our circumstances, Chad,” Jensen chided.

The sound of footfall on the stairs halted their conversation.  The table they sat at was catty-corner to a shelf that partially blocked the view of the stairs.  Jensen’s sight was obscured but Murray could see if there was any danger. 

The steps were light, a single person coming down the stairs.  Jensen relaxed slightly, but it wasn’t until Murray’s shoulders dropped that he let his guard down completely.  A second later, heavier footsteps sounded.  Murray shook his head immediately and Jensen knew it was Kane.  He had no idea how Murray could tell from the footsteps but a few minutes later, Kane stared down at him for a second. 

“Alright?”

Murray snorted at the question and Jensen couldn’t help but smile at the overprotective nature of the Kandili knight.  He wasn’t sure if it was fear of retribution from Danneel or Jared that made him so guarded, or if it was simply his belief in their cause.  Jensen preferred to think it was the latter, and that perhaps the knight had grown fond of him in his own right. 

“We’re perfectly fine,” Jensen answered.

“Your Majesty?”

The voice came from behind them and before Jensen could place it, Kane was in motion.  Jensen turned around to find Kane holding a woman against the nearest shelf, his body between her and Jensen.   Murray had moved into a protective position before him as well. 

“What business do you have here?” Kane demanded of the woman. 

Jensen pushed at Murray until the knight got out of his way and the woman’s eyes caught his as soon as he moved.  “Let her go, Kane,” Jensen ordered. 

The knight didn’t hesitate, but he kept his body between them still. 

“Samantha?”

She smiled at him then and he felt the warmth of it as if it were a touch.  “Prince Jensen, I thought I saw you walk in but I had an arm full of books.”

Jensen pushed Kane out of the way and pulled her into a quick embrace.  “It is good to see a friend, Samantha.”

She leaned back, looking at him with large brown eyes that had always seemed to hold too much knowledge.  Jensen could remember her from when he was still a child, traveling with his mother to the Donaran capital.  In his youth, she’d snuck him sweets, and in his later visits, she’s sat up with him into the early morning going through the historical documents of the knights of the realm.

“We had word of your family and I am so sorry for your loss,” she said softly.  Jensen let out a deep breath and a small nod, afraid for a moment that his voice would betray him.  “How did it happen?”

He pulled back then in surprise.  “You don’t know?”

“No, word came from Pelagia a few days ago that the Pelagian family had taken ill and that Princess Megan was ruling in their stead until it was settled.  Prince Daren has been beside himself with worry over it.  We were told it was the entire family, but perhaps the news was spread without thought that you would return home to the throne.”

Jensen looked away for a moment to collect his thoughts.  He could feel Murray and Kane waiting for his decision.  He could let Samantha think what she did and it was probably safest to do so, but he trusted her.  His mother had talked fondly of her friendship with the historian and her love of the ancient scrolls.  It was cruel to keep the secret from her, and if there was anyone who could point him in the direction of the right scrolls, it would be her.

“My sister-in-law used deception to gain the castle walls and used an army of Torugan warriors to kill my family,” he said softly.  Samantha let out a gasp and Jensen continued on before he lost the nerve.  “She abducted my husband, her brother, and planned to kill him once she had what she wanted.  She did not kill the entire family though.  Joshua lives and he is mounting an attempt to regain the throne from her.”

“Jensen, I …” She let out a shuddered breath and seemed to draw herself up.  “You didn’t come all this way to Donara for condolences and you aren’t in the basement of the library during a time like this to hide from the world.  What can I help you with?”

Jensen smiled.  It was what he loved about the woman before them.  “We believe that Megan is looking for the Jade Crown.  I intend to find it before she can.”

Samantha nodded for a few seconds before she pushed her long sleeves up to her elbows.  “You’ve come to the right place then.  Let me see what I can find for you.”

She walked away before he could say anything else and he shared a bemused look with Murray.  Kane watched her go before he made eyes contact with Jensen.  “No need to worry?”

“If anyone knows where the information is, it would be Samantha.  She’s the Academy Historian and runs the libraries.  We were lucky she found us today.”

“We were lucky she had such a fondness for your mother,” Murray added.

Jensen smiled.  “I’ll take it as a good omen; that my mother looks out for us still.”

**

“Your Majesty.”

He bowed in front of her and she had to hold back her annoyance.  It’s been far too long since word of her husbands had come and the scout was playing at formality.  The news was dark lately from every corner.  The child within her grew larger and Danneel was beginning to fear she would give birth to the king’s child on her own. 

“You have news, Scout Collins?” she asked, sitting as proudly as she could on her throne.  Her back ached and she grew tired easily these days, but she refused to let it show.  Too many people knew of her sleepless nights and her walks along the tower walls.  She would not give them more to gossip about than she had to. 

“I was bid to bring you a letter, My Queen, by the King.  I was waylaid on the way and was bid to give you another, by the Prince Consort.”

The fact that Jared and Jensen weren’t together was bothersome enough but Danneel feared what was written inside.  She needed to know, but she also knew she couldn’t open the letters while she was in front of the court.  There were other items to discuss, but she tilted her chin up slightly, gathering herself up. 

“I am afraid I have pressing matters that I must attend to,” Danneel said as she stood from the dais.  “The court must adjourn.  If you have urgent needs, please see to the Orators for a private word and they will see to you.  For those that chose to wait, I will be certain to attend to your needs in the morning.”

She held an arm out and motioned for the scout to come closer.  “Since you have a message to deliver, you may walk with me.”

She set an arm on Collins’ and walked with a careful pace to keep from hurrying from the room.  She knew without questioning that Orators Morgan and Beaver would be following soon after.  Jim had been one of her staunchest supporters and Morgan was a good man with a fair mind, open and warm, and he cared a great deal for Jensen. 

The halls were brightly lit; colorful tapestries adorned the walls as the castle prepared for the Great Faire.  Danneel let her eyes roam over the festive touches the servants had put up to try to calm herself.  She needed to speak to Ona, the head of the household staff, to commend the work. 

The walk to her formal office wasn’t far though Danneel would probably have pulled the scout into a closet if she had to walk much further.  The scout held the door for her and she forced herself to take a seat on the couch in the small welcoming area as she watched Collins close the door behind him. 

He looked no worse for the road he’d been on, dirty and wild, but he had obviously been on the road some time to get to her.  She took the waiting pitcher and poured a glass of cool water for him, standing to offer it to him when he approached. 

“You are kind, My Queen,” he said, taking the cup from her.  He took a deep drink, but set the cup down quickly as he reached for his message pouch.  “It was a long ride home and I fear that the news is not so fresh but there were obstacles that I’m sure you would rather discuss after you’ve had your messages.”

Danneel sat down and held her hand out for the messages.  “The first message I took was from King Jared.  He was not yet able to return home and asked me to bring you his well wishes.  As I was on the way to you, I came across one of our own scouts, who led me to Prince Jensen.  Though at the time they wrote the messages they were separated, I believe that they are together again, Your Majesty.”

Danneel let out a deep breath as she took the first letter and ran her fingers lightly over the seal of the Kandili king.  The baby kicked at that moment and Danneel ran her hand over the spot, making a soothing noise to the child within.  “Let us see what your father has to say for his absence, shall we?”

She broke the seal with a slightly shaking finger and ignored it in the hopes that Collins hadn’t seen the way her body betrayed her nervousness.  Collins said he believed her husbands were together though, so that should be soothing at least.

As always, Jared started with ‘My Dearest Light’ and she had to take a deep breath to fight off the tears.  She could blame it on the baby and the way her body was reacting to the hormonal shifts, but her people needed her to be strong, even the soldiers.

It took her three times to understand the full meaning of his words.  It wasn’t that she didn’t read each line carefully, but she found that she was reading so much meaning in each word that she couldn’t put the whole together. 

She didn’t hide her tears then, letting them fall because while Jared had kept the tale brief, there was a world of pain as he spoke of his sister and the betrayal of the Pelagian royal family.  She knew his heart and knew that he would do what it took to undo the wrongs of his sister – to undo what he surely thought of as his own wrongs since he would think he had failed his sister that she could become such a monster – but she wished in the privacy of her own heart that he was not so noble and had come home to her instead.

Collins handed her the second letter when she held her hand out for it.  She feared what it would say but she needed to know what her other husband was doing.  Jared had not spoken of their husband in his letter and Danneel was afraid of the grief she would find in his words.

He had never written a letter to her before, but she recognized his elegant script as she unfolded the paper.  His greeting was as endearing to her as Jared’s, ‘My beautiful Wife,’ he began and she closed her eyes, hearing his voice in her mind.

She heard a knock at her chamber door, but trusted her safety to Jared’s man, not bothering to acknowledge the presence of the two orators when they arrived.  Jensen barely spoke of his grief, his mind set in motion to find their wayward king.  He knew where Jared was heading and would follow him there.  He had hope of catching him soon and then he would be there to keep Jared safe.  He reassured her that her brother was with him as well and that Christian was in good health, but urged her to care because there were mercenaries in their home and it was up to her to keep their people safe.

When the letter was done, she reread it again.  She knew, before the night was through, that she would have the two in her memory, word for word, from constant reading, but for now, she had news to give and her heart ached for what she must relay.

When she looked up at the three men in her office she let out a deep breath.  “Gentlemen, forgive me.  I could not put aside my husbands’ letters to welcome you in as I should.  Wine would be a welcome guest tonight, I think.”

She poured a cup for Orator Beaver and Morgan and a cup of juice for herself, but the scout was at the door, watching over them.

“You have hard news,” Orator Beaver said softly, over the rim of his wine glass.  She must have shown her surprise because he gave her a small smile.  “I have known you a long time, Danneel,” he said.  “You don’t need to stand on formality with me.”

She nodded, turning her attention to the Pelagian orator.  “I have had news that both Jared and Jensen are well.  Or they were at the time of these letters.  They are headed into a dangerous pursuit and I cannot say for sure if they are still now safe.  The news that I bear is not happy though.  Orator Morgan, Jeffrey,” she said his first name solemnly, hoping that he would not take her use of it poorly.  “While Jared and Jensen were traveling to Pelagia they were attacked.  Jared was abducted and carried off.  Jensen chased after his abductors but Jared was able to escape on his own and Jensen had news of where he was going so he went to meet with our husband there.”

She looked at Jim and sighed.  “He was abducted by Megan.”

“Megan?” Orator Morgan asked.  “Of Donara?”

“Yes, his sister.  She drugged him and used him to gain access to the Pelagian castle.”  The orator’s eyes widened and she watched the line of his mouth thin and turn white.  “She killed most of the royal family.  Joshua and Jesina escaped and Joshua is trying to regain the throne.  She was aided by Torugan soldiers, but one of their own helped Jared escape.  Jared was going to Toruga to convince the clans to move against King Stuart for his betrayal of their beliefs.  Jensen found out and is headed to join him there.”

The orator closed his eyes and Danneel looked at Jim for guidance.  She knew Orator Morgan, but she had not spent the same amount of time with him as Jim had.  Jim seemed to be lost in his own thoughts though and Danneel thought he was probably lost in the memories of Megan.  She had been such a sweet child once and it was only in the last few years that Danneel had felt the coldness of her attitude. 

“I cannot express my grief at your loss,” she said softly.  She hadn’t had time to feel her own yet.  They were her family too, her mother-in-law and father-in-law, though she had spent too little time with them to seal the familial bonds.  She had thought to have time to get to know Jesina and Jenevieve and laugh with Jensen’s mother at the folly of young women, but she would never have the chance now. 

She took a deep breath and steeled her back.  “Know that the Kandilihar Triune will do all in its power to see the throne returned to the rightful heir.  Jared has left men with King Joshua while they attempt to restore him.  Until then, please know that you are welcome here.  In such times, another voice of wisdom is always welcome at our table.”

“Your Majesty,” Orator Morgan said with a shuddered breath.  “Thank you.  I think I need some time to think on your words.  If you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course,” she said softly as she stood.  He walked out without another glance back at her. 

“He’ll have questions come morning,” Jim said as he watched the door close behind him.  “He’ll want to know when we send our men to their aid.”

Collins looked at her then and Danneel already knew what he had to say.  She shook her head before he could speak and he stopped, returning his attention to the door.

“There is more news.  Megan plans to rule all of the Six Lakes Realm.  The Torugan who helped Jared escape said that Stuart was sending an army into Kandilihar to take the castle.”

Jim lowered his eyes, looking back and forth as if searching inside himself, but when his eyes turned back to Danneel he seemed to have accepted what she had said.  “Then we have no army to send to Pelagia.  We have to find this army.”

“My husbands are heading to Toruga and we have to hope that they will be able to find army enough to win Joshua his throne back.  For now, we must turn to our own borders.”  She looked over to Collins.  “You said there was trouble on the way.  Please, speak to me now.”

He nodded as he walked over to join them in the welcoming area.  “There were two main groups that I had to avoid.  The first was a Torugan army.  It was not the whole army and I could hear from the shadows of their fires that they were meeting a larger force.  They were not far north of the Kandilihar border.  As I rode away from them, I came across another large force.  They were a mix of mercenaries from Ruvien and Torugan warriors.  The Torugan were none too happy to be forced to work with the mercenaries.  Forgive me, My Queen, but I followed them for two days’ time to ascertain their condition and plans.  They are traveling to the Kandilihar/Ruvien border to meet with more mercenaries.  King Stuart does not seem to trust the mercenaries, but he does not believe he can take Kandilihar without them.”

“I can’t believe Daren is involved in this,” Danneel said softly.  “The man isn’t strong enough to fight Jared for his crown or to act against the wishes of the Academy Council.  Megan is behind all of it, but I can’t understand why.  Why would she-” her breath caught as she remembered the welcome she had received from the Pelagian king and queen before they had asked for Jensen’s hand.  When they rode to Kandilihar for the wedding, Danneel had been given the chance to return their hospitality and she had enjoyed every moment spent with Jensen’s family. 

“Danneel, rest,” Jim said softly at her side.  “We all need time to think about what this means.  If I might suggest, we need more information.  We should send Collins and the scouts out to see where the armies are now.  We can begin stocking the storerooms while we wait for their word.”

Danneel nodded.  “Collins, it would seem we have need of you to ride again.  Rest tonight, and in the morning I want scouts to ride out in all directions.  Find our enemies.”

“Your Majesty, it was the King’s wish that I return to King Joshua with news of you.”

Danneel nodded.  “I understand, but I can send any messenger back to Joshua.  I have need of you now.  Will you stay with your Queen?”

Collins took a moment to look at her and then he stepped back, bowing deeply.  “If the Fiery Queen says to ride, then who am I to naysay her?  I will ride in the morning with the other scouts.  I will find the best man to deliver your message to Joshua.”

“Thank you, Collins,” she said softly.  He had joined the Kandilihar scouts when Danneel was still just a stable hand’s daughter.  She had no idea what his thoughts were of a peasant queen but he had always stood stoutly behind Jared. She gave him a small smile at his loyalty.  “Now, eat and take rest.  There will be much to do in the morning before you leave and I would see you rested before you go.”

He left her along with Jim then and Danneel sighed.  “It will be an early morning, Orator.  Could you speak with Ona and have her begin to shore up our stores?  Subtly until we gain word from the scouts.  Tell her I simply want to be sure we have all the provisions we need before the Faire sets in.”

He nodded, aware that it was his dismissal.  When the door shut behind her, Danneel sat back down on the couch and picked up the two letters.  She began rereading them again, but her mind was already on sealing the gates, calling her people in from the outer fields, and finding a room for the strangers who were already decorating their city for the Faire.

**

 It went far simpler than she had thought.  The Torugan were known to be amazing warriors but they had a code of honor that belied their sometimes ruthless battle tactics.  Being the youngest child in the Pelagian royal family hadn’t spared her from history lessons and she was thanking her father for it now.  She’d kept her face covered and walked straight into the inner city.  As she got closer to the castle, Ruden walked up to the Torugans guarding the castle and claimed to have a prize for Princess Megan. 

Of course, the hard part was about to begin.  Ruden had given them her name but he’d refused to be separated from her side, telling the men that he wanted to be certain that the Princess saw that it was his hand that delivered her and not theirs.  He was questioning their honor, something Jesina would never have imagined him doing, but unlike the stories of old, these men simply let him into the courts.  Ruden had whispered that men who had lost honor had nothing to fight for and she had felt an echoing grief at the sadness that laced his voice when he spoke. 

They were led to a small waiting room for the Princess to come.  Ruden stayed in the room with one other soldier, watching her.  Jesina tried not to be upset when she found herself in Jensen’s office.  It was the smallest of offices in the castle, but Jensen had rarely seen to business inside it.  Her brother was far more likely to hear claims outside the court.  He would ride into a village and hold court in the tavern when asked to, though Jesina knew he would prefer to just visit.  They all knew their duty and Jesina was feeling the weight of it now.  She stood and walked to the window, looking over the island port and towards the main land.  Her own offices were a floor above with the same view.  She was afraid what she’d find if she went up into them now. 

There was no difference in the view outside the window; no change in activity that showed her world had ended.  It was hard enough to think about facing Megan, knowing what she’d done to her family.  She wasn’t sure how to do it with the backdrop of life moving on. 

She turned away from the window and brought her hands to her stomach, trying to calm her nerves.  She told her brother she could do this, she told Jared she could.  Ruden had believed in her, enough to follow her in and hide among the Torugan and help her however he could.  She couldn’t balk now that she was there.

She took a deep breath and focused on her memories of Megan.  The Donaran Princess had come to the castle often over the years and they’d spent time together when Jensen had married Jared.  Megan enjoyed coming to her rooms.  Jenevieve had been busy at the courts, attending their mother so it had fallen on Jesina to entertain the Princess when Megan wasn’t otherwise busy.  They talked about frivolous things and Jesina steered clear of commenting on the gossip that Megan tried to bring up.  Her mother had long taught her how to evade her opinions on matters like that, which Megan seemed to blunder in.  The Queen had explained to her that Megan’s father hadn’t believed that all his children should know how to rule, and that Megan was unschooled in the arts of diplomacy.  Jesina still didn’t understand why a ruler would keep one child in the dark while raising one to rule, but she kept her own council with those thoughts.  It served her well now, allowing her to school her features and calm her mind while Megan would know none of the tells for her true feelings.

The door opened and Jesina kept her eyes down and held her hands in front of her.  She knew what she wanted Megan to see and she waited, hoping it was Megan that would walk through the door.

“I was told you have a present for me?”

“I caught her outside the castle walls in a village by the east port.  She had the look of the family so I caught her.  I believe you have been looking for Princess Jesina.”

Megan’s eyes widened as she looked up and Jesina dropped her head, closing her eyes at the emotions that ran through her.  She had never been so angry in her life.  She had witnessed Megan killing her family but at the time it had been horror and fear that ruled her.  Now, she wanted to see Megan removed from their lands, from their realm entirely.  She took a deep breath to calm herself, remembering her plan and how Ruden’s life depended on her now.  How the soldiers on the mainland depended on her to get the gates open. 

“Jesina?”

Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at the Donaran princess.  Jesina wanted to turn away but she held her head high then, only taking a single step back when Megan approached her.

“Princess,” her voice was a bare whisper as she addressed Megan but her insides were rolling.  This was the moment that would determine if Megan would take her into her confidence or kill her as she had the rest of Jesina’s family.

“I was so worried you were hurt,” Megan said softly.  “When Joshua escaped, I was afraid he had killed you both.”

Jesina didn’t answer, but kept her features schooled to a neutral expression.  Megan’s eyes moved over her face, searching. 

“Jesina, you can’t think I meant to hurt you,” she said, reaching out to take Jesina’s hand.  “I could never have hurt you.  We have long talked about this bond between us.  We are sisters, you and I, left to handouts and rags while our brothers were given the world.  I would never turn you away, sister.”

She pulled Jesina into an embrace and Jesina couldn’t help the sob that escaped her throat.  In so many ways Megan was like her brother and the concern and care on her face had echoed Jared’s as he listened to her counsel.   Megan was not her brother though and Jesina knew that the only care she would receive was if Megan believed her to be truly cowed and bent under her whims.

“I … I loved them Megan,” she whispered softly.

Megan hushed her.  “Of course you did, as I loved my father and brother.  Your tears are fitting for the heart you hold.  If only they had been worthy of it, our worlds would have been so very different.”

Jesina let out a shaky breath and pulled back slightly.  “I was going to write to you for counsel, sister,” she lied.  “My father had not announced it yet, but he had arranged my marriage.  He was going to marry me to Orator Morgan.  I know he is a good man and would have made a fine husband, but he is old and greyed and I am too young to be married to a man of politics.”

She watched the lie work.  Megan had often spoken poorly of her arranged marriage and the position her father had put her in.  Jesina had no doubt that the lie would endear her position to Megan, who had longed for the affection of a sister.  Orator Morgan, when he heard of her deception, would be appalled at the idea of an arranged marriage of the sort but he would be more than happy if her deception helped Joshua gain the throne back. 

Megan let out a deep sigh.  “I see how troubled you are, Jesina.  You loved them and they betrayed you.  I understand all too well, as you knew I would.  You were wise to want my counsel.”  Megan smiled as she raised a hand to run it through Jesina’s hair.  “I will take much better care of you than that.  From here on, you are my confidante and companion.  We shall get you properly cleaned up and dressed and we will find a way to ease both our hearts.”

“I … I should hate you for what you did,” Jesina admitted, “but all I could think as my father offered me to Morgan was that you would understand.  There has to be some higher calling for me then to be the wife of a political advisor who would allow me nothing more than a household to care for.”

“There is a much higher calling for us, Megan, but I need your help.  I need to secure Pelagia before I can turn my attention to my sister-in-law in Kandilihar.  What happened to Joshua?  Where is he?”

Jesina let out a deep breath, tears filling her eyes at the thought of Megan ever finding him.  She had planned her lies well though and she was ready for it.  “I don’t know.  I fainted when you were questioning my family,” she had to stop to swallow against the lump in her throat.  She could remember the moment all too clearly; Megan demanding Jensen’s location as she had the throats of her family slit for each negative answer.  Joshua had been the only one left alive and she had pretended to faint, hoping against hope that Megan would forestall their execution.   Her gambit had worked and Johsua had seen them free.

“When I woke I was underwater.  I don’t know what happened to him.  I know he threw me from the high tower but I didn’t see him as I swam for shore.  I looked for him because I didn’t know what else to do.” She looked over at Ruden and the other Torugan that guarded her.  “I knew you would be looking for me, but I feared the barbarians you brought with you.”

Megan watched her for a moment before she nodded.  “The Torugan will follow my word.  They are loyal to their king and he is loyal to me.  You need not be afraid of them little sister,” Megan said with a smile.

“Now, I think we’ve had enough conversation for now.  Tonight, after dinner, we will talk more about your search for your brother.  For now, we shall get you cleaned up and settled properly into your home.”

Jesina gave a shallow curtsy and lowered her eyes.  “Thank you, Princess.”

“Nonsense,” Megan said, pulling her close again.  “We are sisters.”

Jesina closed her eyes and reminded herself that she did not betray her own sister with the charade.

**

“Where is Abel?” Jensen asked as he settled into their accustomed table.  Since Samantha had found them the table was always open when they got there, covered with scrolls and books that she thought might help with their search.

“He should be by soon,” Kane said as he took a seat across from Jensen.  The knight wasn’t too happy to be doing research, but the words of the hillsmen were more likely to be familiar with him since the hillsmen were the ancestors of both the Kandilihar and Torugan nations.  Murray was moving around the lower level of the library, watching them. 

“You think he’s right about Daren?” Jensen asked.  It was always an exercise in patience to get Kane to admit to anything, but Jensen had become good at it over the course of their journey.  It wasn’t that the Kandili knight didn’t have an opinion about things, but he didn’t like to come right out and say it. 

“Abel has always had a way with people,” Kane said as his fingers ran over the letters on the page.  “Daren was never a soldier and he was never power hungry.  It doesn’t make any sense that he would be involved.  Megan could talk a stallion into riding right off a cliff if she felt like it though.”

Jensen sighed but before he could ask again Kane’s fingers stilled.  “Do you keep finding references to the Garden of Stones?”

“I haven’t seen it before.  What is it?”

“I don’t know,” Kane said.  Jensen got up and moved to Kane’s side to look at the scroll.  “I’ve seen it a few times but it was mentioned in passing.  This time it’s used to discuss the High King.”

Jensen looked down at the passage and followed where Kane had been reading.  “The Garden of Stone.  You don’t have anything like that in Kandilihar do you?”

“No,” Kane admitted.

“What about a valley where three mountains meet?”  Jensen asked.  “I’ve seen it in my dreams a number of times now.  There is a river that comes down through the valley and disappears into the ground there.  In my dream, on one side of the mountains there were soldiers knee deep in wine.  The second side of the mountain was a valley of chains.  The open space between them was a valley with the rumbling of hooves and water echoing underneath it all.”

Kane reached for the map that they kept with them.  He opened it over the scroll he’d been looking at and pointed to an area on the east border of Kandilihar.  “There are only two places in the Six Lakes Realm that three mountain ranges come together.  There is a place here,” he pointed, “on the Ruvien and Torugan border with Kandilihar.  The area is mostly uninhabitable.  The other place is here,” he pointed to the border of Ruvien, Lastoran, and Kandilihar. 

“I don’t know much about dreams, but the Lastoran economy was based on slavery until the King was overthrown and Prince LaRoche came into power.  They use machines to do a lot of the crop picking these days.  The shackles and metal could mean Lastoran.  Soldiers and wine are easily enough construed as the Ruvien Legions or their mercenaries.  I’m not sure what the rushing water could mean to you, but the horses could be our own.”

“You think we should look at the mountain ranges there?”  Jensen asked.

Kane ran a hand over his face as he looked down at the map.  “Your dreams have been truer than I’d like.  If that’s what you’re seeing, then I think maybe that’s where we need to go but I’d rather know more before we run off.  That area is what we call the Divergence.  It’s large enough to lead an army through and it’s easy to forage there.  Fertile land, but no one has ever lived there as far as I know.  The hillsmen I’ve been reading about moved around in that area.  They were truly nomadic and didn’t settle in any one place but moved from the coastal area of modern Lastoran to the Kandili plains and the Ruvien fields.  They traveled the Divergence often.”

Jensen nodded.  “Alright.  We’ll keep looking then.  Anything we can find on the Divergence or this Garden of Stones.”

They spent the day buried in scrolls with Samantha at their side.  They sent for Abel who brought food and picked up a scroll himself to read through as they ate.  The light was starting to die outside before Samantha’s hand gripped Jensen’s wrist tightly.  He looked at her as she pointed to a passage.  “This used to be my favorite fable as a child, but I haven’t read it as an adult.  I think you need to see this.”

She handed him the scroll and Jensen read the story of a king betrayed by his people.  He promised to return to set his lands to right again, to unite them under the flag of peace, but until that time his crown was buried in green vines and the mountain springs of antiquity.  In time, his people would rise again to reclaim their homeland and be whole again.

It was a simple children’s story, taught over the years across the Six Lakes Realm.  Jensen remembered his mother telling him the story.  She had always touched his face gently when she finished it because he always wanted to know how the king could make such a promise.  She’d kiss his brow and smile and say, “Jensen, some men grow to greatness through arms and some through diplomacy.  Some men can see the needs of others though and see the portents of the world around them.  The king was such a man, though his own love blinded him to the dark tidings of his days.  The promise will be kept though and someday the Crown will set on the rightful brow again.”

Jensen closed his eyes at the memory and at the way his own family had begun grooming him for something they had no way of knowing.  He wondered now if his father had shared visions as was written of the Pelagian family of old, or if his mother had just been a romantic.  As much as he knew she was, he couldn’t help but think his father knew something of these dark days when he had allowed Jensen to train to be a Knight of the Old Ways.

“Your Highness?” Kane called him gently.  “Jensen?”

He didn’t understand why it was happening to him, but he could see the same things the others did; the visions and his own unique position in the world.  He couldn’t be pulled down by those thoughts just yet though. 

“The Divergence,” he said softly.  “At first light, we leave for the Divergence.”

He handed the scroll to Kane and walked away from the table.  There was nothing for the others to say to him that would comfort his grief, nor take away the weight the world had just placed on his shoulders.  Jared had believed and Jensen had scoffed, saying he was too enmeshed in the workings of both Kandilihar and Pelagia to be what Jared wanted.  It wasn’t the truth though.  The truth was that Jensen had been trained since his youth to see to the needs of everyone around him, not just one kingdom.  It was why he had been able to become a skilled diplomat at such a young age and why he preferred being with the people instead of in the courts.  He had a part to play in the world but all he really wanted was to end his journeys and go home to his wife and husband.

“The end of the journey is not where fate takes us,” Jensen quoted softly, “but where we choose to step off the path.”

“Do you plan to stop soon then?” Murray asked from behind him.

Jensen shook his head.  “No, I’m afraid that the end of our journey still has many miles before we will see it.”

Murray didn’t say anything and he didn’t need to.  Jensen knew the other knight had already believed that this was where their path would end.

 

**  
  


“It’s begun, Your Majesty.”

Danneel took a deep breath as she looked away from the window to the two men who stood before her desk in her office.  She had been waiting for them for half the day, but she had known it would take time.  It was never quick, preparing for war, and even the smallest of orders took time to implement.  This was no small order.

“Riders went out to the nearest villages.  Scouts have been sent to keep an eye on troop movements and to let any of our people wandering with the herds to come to the castle if possible or to take refuge where they can,” Orator Beaver said solemnly. 

“It was the right thing to do,” Danneel said softly.  It had never happened in her lifetime.  Even with Gerald’s wars, no one would have dared to move against the Kandilihar castle.  She felt sick, knowing it would happen during her rule.  “What of the Faire?  Have the hawkers been seen to?”

“Some are trying to return home before the army arrives and some have chosen to stay with us.”

“If I may, Your Majesty?”  Danneel nodded at Orator Morgan and the man let out a slow breath.  “I know that the Kandili castle was built for a siege, but nothing can withstand betrayal.  The hawkers who chose to remain may be a danger.  Foreigners who remain in the castle should be kept under a close watch.”

“Including yourself, Orator?” Danneel teased.  He looked taken aback at that but she smiled.  “I know where your loyalties lie and I do not doubt you.  Nor do I doubt the hawkers and venders who have come to the Faire for years.  We have an area on the outerwalls that can hold a large population and still be secured.  If the fighting comes to us, then we can move them further in. Until such a time as we are betrayed I will not look to any man or woman with suspicion.  We have already been betrayed, Orators, and there is no one we would have guessed less likely.  I will not look for betrayal when there is no way to find it.  It only leads to heightened relations and unfair accusations.  If there is sound proof against a person I will hear it, but not until then.”

“As you wish, My Queen.” 

Beaver answered swiftly but Danneel noted that he spoke to keep Orator Morgan from speaking again.  The Pelagian was a good man and good company, but he didn’t have the experience with Danneel that Jim did.  The other man knew when her mind was made and he knew when to push.  Her patience was thin today and she stroked a hand over her swollen belly to try to calm herself.

“What about our men?” Danneel asked.  “You heard the scouts reports.  Do we take the men and ride, or do we wait out a siege?”

“Danneel,” Jim said her name quietly, reverently as he moved closer to take a seat in front of her desk.  “No matter how we do this, men will die.  We have never allowed a foreign army to go unanswered on our soil though.  Gerald would never have stood it and for all his noble ideas, Jared would not either.  You know this.  We need to act swiftly.  Call the men to war.  They will ride under the King’s banner and end this threat.”

“Your Majesty, I have to disagree,” Morgan said.  “If I may?”  She nodded when he took a seat next to Jim. 

“What have you to say, Jeffrey?” She asked, using his familiar name to know that she was asking now for counsel. 

“The army that is coming towards us is large.  Too many lives will be lost if you face them in battle now.  There is still hope that Jared will return from his journeys and bring men to aid Kandilihar.  Keep pulling people into the castle and let the siege begin.  You will be better prepared for a siege than the Torugan and Ruvien mercenaries and that will be to your advantage.”

Danneel sighed.  “No matter what we do, people will die,” she said softly.  “We’ve already heard of people lost as they fled the coming enemy.  My heart says that we ride out and show the world the power of the Kandili horsemen, but my head says that we have too much to lose to put all our cards on that one table just yet.”

“We have never failed you, Your Majesty,” Jim said.

She could see the knight in him rearing up in place of the politician and Danneel loved that about him.  It was something he had in common with her husband and Danneel didn’t doubt where Jared had learned that from.  Jim was as honorable as her husbands and as fiercely protective of their lands.  She had no doubt that he would ride in the front of the battle in full armor if she allowed it.

She let out a shuddered breath at the thought of losing him.  “Have the armory prepared, but I will not yet go to war with this army.  Keep pulling men back behind the walls.  When the army arrives we will hope for a peaceful conclusion to this gathering.” 

Jim wanted to speak again but Danneel cut him off.  “If peace cannot be attained through diplomacy, then there will be enough lives lost on both sides.  We do not need to start this war for them.”

**

The visions grew worse as they rode.  Jensen tried not to worry the others, but he wasn’t sleeping well.  Dark tidings of Pelagia and Kandilihar plagued his dreams and they hung heavy in his thoughts during the day.  Abel stayed close to him, joking and teasing and trying to gain a smile, while Kane and Murray made certain they were safe and traveled the fastest way through Donara.  When Abel was scouting ahead, Jensen kept to himself. 

He was in no mood for company and while Abel seemed determined to bring him out of his foulness, Murray and Kane seemed more likely to be affected by him so he closed them both out, ignoring the looks they gave him as they traveled on.  He knew they were worried but there was nothing to be done but to reach their destination as quickly as possible.  If he could managed it, he’d be eating in the saddle and stopping for only a few hours at night, but Murray refused and Kane backed him up with surprising vehemence. 

Jensen knew that Kane loved his sister, but he had never seen it so clearly as when Jensen, in a fit of rage, had cursed Kane for keeping him from saving her, spewing out the black visions he’d had of her until his own vitriol had run dry. 

Kane hadn’t spoken to him since, the knight kept to himself and Jensen let him.  Abel knew better than to try to cheer his commander up so he stayed away from the man.  Murray was the only one who dared Kane’s temper and Jensen had no doubt, he thought bitterly, that it was only because of his love for the other knight that Kane bit back his anger. 

As Murray rode back from Kane’s side, Jensen sat up taller on his horse.  If Jared had been there, he would have known how to handle it better, but Jensen was alone and without the two people he loved most in the world.  His parents, brothers, and sister had been murdered.  His husband had been betrayed by his sister and sat on Jensen’s family’s throne, and Danneel was alone to bring their child into the world while Torugan soldiers tried to bring down the walls of their home.  The visions never gave him a rest and Jensen knew he could only take so much before it broke him entirely. 

He could only hope he didn’t destroy everything when it did.

“Kane said there is a good place to camp close by tonight, or we will have to ride another few hours before there is cover,” Murray said as he pulled his horse alongside Jensen. 

“I’m not yet tired,” Jensen said quietly.  “We will ride another few hours.”

Murray nodded but didn’t say anything.  He didn’t leave to tell Kane either, which meant they’d already know what he would want to do.  “Abel will know how to find us there.”

Murray nodded.  “He will.  Kane said we’ll enter the Divergence tomorrow morning either way.  The valley could take a few days to reach, depending on how the trails have grown over the last few years.  Kandilihar has had no reason to send troops this way since Jared took the throne.”

Jensen nodded and Murray fell silent at his side for a moment. 

“Jensen.”

He knew as soon as Murray said his first name that he didn’t want to hear what the man had to say.  “There is nothing I want to hear from you, Murray,” he dismissed.  “We go on.  We will keep going on, as hard and as long as I can convince you and Kane to keep going.  You heard what I have seen about Danneel but I haven’t said anything about the rest of it, about my husband or my home or the rest of the Six Lakes Realm.  I cannot sleep without seeing it and I cannot eat without thinking that for every minute I take to choke down food, someone else will be eating their last mean because I did not stop it fast enough.”

“You are not responsible for that.”

“I am entirely responsible for that!” Jensen yelled.  “If you and Kane and Jared have it your way, then I will always be responsible for it!”

He kicked his heels into his horse to speed away from Murray.  He couldn’t go far, not without riding up alongside Kane and the last thing he wanted in his current mood was that.  If he tried to go past Kane he was likely to find his neck at the end of two swords; Kane and Murray would certainly unite against him and while Jensen could best Murray, he was untried against Kane and he would never best them together. 

Instead, he rode away from Murray and dismounted.  He walked beside his horse, talking softly to it as he had seen the cavalry men do.  Nothing of importance, but it was soothing to walk and let his speech settled on the things he saw.  Murray rode past him a few minutes later to join Kane in front of him. 

When they got too far ahead, Jensen jogged forward, falling into a light run with his horse.  The beast was barely walking fast but it made Jensen feel better to have the ground under his feet and to work off the negative energy that had been consuming him of late. 

He ran at a light pace for a while, then fell into a walk again.  He continued that pattern until they had found their camp for the night.  Jensen didn’t try to help the other, but took care of the horses instead.  When it was done and food was ready, Abel showed up and talked about the coming road as they ate.  When they were done, Jensen turned over into his bedroll and closed his eyes.  Sleep pulled at him from the physical exertion of the last few hours and Jensen welcomed it in.  He just hoped it was enough to keep the dreams at bay for one night.

**

The letter in his hand wasn’t a surprise.  Captain Sheppard had been waiting for the word to arrive, but it still left his heart pounding.  The storm was rising all around them and it was entirely political in nature.  He was a man of the sea and while he could ride the waves with the best of them, politics were out of his area of expertise.  He wasn’t a stupid man, but he believed in speaking his mind and saying what he felt straight out rather than the hiding and scheming of politicians. 

There was definitely a storm though.

“I suppose it’s time then,” he said to himself.  He was sitting at the inn, quiet as the mornings tended to be there.  The men didn’t bother him there until afternoon when they’d come with updates and concerns.  This morning, he appreciated the quiet of his breakfast though he wished LaRoche had come in person to deliver the orders.

Sheppard had a destination now though, a kingdom to help win back, and a fair sky to sail under today.  Supplies had been stocked for weeks now and the men had run out of things to repair so they’d started rebuilding the docks and buildings that LaRoche has destroyed in his attempt to cripple his nation’s former slave economy. 

An interesting man, a gambling man without doubt, and someone Sheppard looked forward to getting to know better at a later time.  He tucked the letter back into his jacket pocket and drank the dredges of his tea before he stood.  He straightened his clothes and took a moment to make sure he looked as put together as a captain should. 

When he walked out, he headed straight to the dock where the lead ship of the Pelagian navy was docked.  She was a beauty, the pride of his navy and the heaviest battle ship they had. 

“Is that mud I see on my deck?” he bellowed into the air.  The quiet movements of men working turned into a flurry of men trying to get to the side of the boat to see their captain.  Two other boats were docked close enough for his voice to carry to and he watched as the men climbed to get a look at him.

“It’s time to touch the wind boys,” the captain yelled out.  “Orders have finally come through and we have never had a more urgent mission than this.  There are pirates in our seas and they are taking supplies into Pelagia for the usurpers who sit in our castle!”

There was a surge of anger in the men, outcries against the Torugan flag that had flown over their castle walls when they had last seen it. 

“Prepare for sail you Salt Dogs.  We leave with the next tide to remove the pirates from our seas and return our people to their rightful king!”

**

Jim Beaver had been a knight well known for keeping his head in the heat of battle, no matter the odds.  Once King Gerald appointed him to the courts, he was known for calming the most impassioned of speakers.  He was, in no way, prepared for the sight that he was witnessing. 

The room was a bevy of movement as the midwife prepared.  The queen had gone into labor early and everyone was trying to help or get out of the way.  He knew himself to be a coward when it came to these things and only the direct summons from the Queen herself could bring him through that door.

Orator Morgan was with him and they both moved to the Queen’s bed warily.  The midwife had already scolded him for entering the room too loudly and then for leaving the door open too long and letting a draft in. 

“Jim,” Danneel smiled at him as he stood beside her bed.  He took a seat on the edge of the bed when she reached for his hand.  “Looks like I’ll be missing our walk tonight.”

He smiled at her, trying to keep the worry from his voice.  The child wasn’t so early that the midwives were panicking but they continued to give Danneel looks when she wasn’t watching. 

“You do seem to have found a better way to occupy your time.”

Her hand clenched his and hard and the Queen closed her eyes, groaning in pain.  Jim didn’t say anything, but when she let out a shuddered breath her grip relaxed.

“We should let you be before the midwife has our heads,” Orator Morgan said with a smile.  “You have enough to contend with, Your Majesty.”

“Keep a watch on the wall for me, gentlemen.  I’ll be back as soon as I can be, once this child kicks its way out.”

“Care for yourself, Your Majesty,” Orator Morgan said.  “We will keep the watch for you while you take care of your family.”

Morgan walked to the door and waited for Jim to say his goodbyes.  He was a good man and Jim enjoyed his company.  He had since the days of Gerald’s reign, though he’d been smart enough to keep that quiet.  Gerald would have taken talk like that as betrayal; even the admiration of an enemy was frowned upon by the man.   Morgan didn’t know the Queen well enough though and he certainly didn’t know their people.  

“Heal quickly, My Lady,” he said, kissing the back of her hand lightly.  “Heal quick and get back on your feet.  Your men will expect to see the Fiery Queen on the watch before long.”

She laughed at that and Jim stood to walk away then.  He met Morgan at the door and walked out without looking back.  “We have a long night ahead of us, waiting for news.  What do you say we welcome it in with a stiff drink and some company?”

Morgan smiled.  “That sounds like a good beginning.”

**

Three nights.  Jesina had left a note saying to look to the gates in three nights time and Jared felt like his skin was crawling as he waited.  Most of their men were hanging back, but a dozen of their best men were in the shadows, waiting for the sign to move in. 

“She’ll be here,” Jared said to himself.  Lehne placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort.  As much as Joshua had wanted to be part of the first wave of fighters, Jared refused.  He was with them though, watching behind Lehne where some of Lehne’s men would keep him safe.  Jared understood his need to be there.  He wasn’t sure he would have been able to stop himself if the roles were reversed. 

Movement on the castle wall caught Jared’s attention and he watched Jesina come out from behind one of the walls.  She strolled slowly, looking casually over the wall, but she wasn’t alone.  Megan was at her side and from his position Jared could see his sister’s smile.  Whatever Jesina said, Megan was enjoying the conversation.  Jared felt sick, watching the woman who had murdered Jesina’s family laughing with her as if she had done nothing wrong.  He felt sick knowing that his sister could be that person.

“Sir?“

A hand on his arm made him realize he was reaching for his sword and he took a deep breath to let go of his anger.  Cohen watched him for a moment before letting go and Jared nodded grateful to the man.  Jared wasn’t one to let his emotions get in the way when it came to battle, but this was more than he’d ever had to face.  Jesina had been so sure she could work her way into Megan’s good graces but Jared had refused to believe that Megan could have turned sour so long ago that Jesina had been seeing it as long as she claimed.  Now the truth was before him.  Megan laughed and Jesina looked pleased with herself.  Behind them were two Torugan soldiers and Jared could see Ruden was one of them.  He let out a deep breath, knowing that Ruden had found a way to stay close to Jesina in case things went sour. 

Jesina turned her back to them as she addressed Megan again but she made a gesture with her hands while she spoke.  Jared wasn’t sure what she was doing, but she repeated the gesture three times before she wrapped an arm around Megan’s and led her back into the castle.

Jared waited a few minutes then looked back to Cohen.  “Back to Joshua,” he said softly.

They moved quickly to get away from the castle.  As much as Jared would like to remove his sister from the throne, he couldn’t attack the castle tonight.  Instead he returned to the rightful king. 

“She is alive, even if she was not able to open the castle gates,” Jared said when they reached him. 

Joshua nodded as he started to lead his men away from the castle to safer lands.  They would have to be back on the mainland before morning to avoid the men that paroled the island.  “She is safe, and we will return in three days’ time.”

Jared looked at Joshua and the other man let out a deep breath.  “She used to play a game with Jensen.  I never really understood it, but they would make riddles out of things at the dinner table.  It was only the two of them and the answer would always be something about the time.  They would make guesses at the dinner table using hand gestures.  They were quite obnoxious about it at one time, but father made them stop.  They didn’t, of course, but they became very subtle in their game.  Jensen taught me the game when they got in trouble so that I could tell father they weren’t being disrespectful.  Over the years, he and Jesina continued to play the game, but Jensen would use it with me when we were meeting with dignitaries.  He’d gesture to me to tell me he’d return at a certain time to disrupt the meeting, or to remind of a conversation we’d had a day past that might help in the conversation.  It was very limited, but we knew each other well enough that a few gestures were often enough to express what we needed to convey.  Jesina told us she will try again in three day’s time.  We will be back for her.”

Jared let out a sigh of relief.  At least they knew that Jesina was alive and she still had hopes of getting the gates open.

“Yes, we will be back in three day’s time.”

** 

The Divergence was as unpleasant to travel as Jensen had feared.  They traveled in the foothills whenever possible but there were passes where mudslides and rock falls had made them turn aside to other roads.  The weather was cooler as they traveled but it hadn’t turned the true cold of winter yet.  Jensen was grateful for that at least. 

“Here he comes,” Murray said quietly. 

They were all speaking softly.  Jensen wasn’t sure if it was the way their words seemed to travel or that they had all become so tense.  Even Abel had stopped trying to cheer him up and spent the time riding beside him in silence or softly singing.  When Jensen asked why he was singing, Abel had said it was to teach Jensen the songs of the Kandilihar horsemen.  Jensen stopped complaining about the songs then and Abel took it for the permission it was to continue. 

They ate in silence and the only time Jensen heard the others break it was at night, when Jensen would pretend to sleep and overhear Kane and Murray talking around the fire.  Sometimes their words were about the road ahead, but mostly they talked about their lives, the childhood they’d had and the places they’d been.  They never spoke of battles fought, except where they would complement the other on feats that had been told by others.  It was confusing, listening to the way the two men danced around their feelings.  Jensen never let them know he was a party to these conversations but their words gave him something to think about besides the coming days. 

The valley they looked down upon was still except for the lone man riding towards them.  Kane was sitting at the edge of the trail, waiting .  Murray and Jensen were still on their horses should trouble arise, but Kane was waiting to grab the reins as Abel reached him.

Abel slid out of the saddle with the grace of the Kandili and headed straight for him.  “The valley is clear, Your Highness.  There are no fresh tracks coming in or out.”

 Jensen took a deep breath as he looked to Murray.  The knight nodded but said nothing.  Jensen turned to look at Kane.

“This is where you wanted to be,” he said.  “We can sit here all day talking or we can go inside and see if this is where we really need to be.”

Jensen let out a deep breath.  “Alright, then let’s get down there.”

Abel mounted up again as Kane threw him the reins, then got up on his own horse.  The ride into the valley was slow.  The trail was unused and mossy rocks in the path had grown slick with the morning dew so they moved with caution.

Jensen wanted to run towards the valley or run away to find his husband and wife.  He didn’t want the destiny that seemed to be before him, but he couldn’t turn back either.  The only way to help Jared or Danneel was to continue going on as he was.

He’d tried not to think about it too much as he rode but his thoughts often returned to them.  He tried not to think about how unfair this had all been, how he had barely been with Jared and Danneel before they’d been parted.  Those sorts of thoughts didn’t help the darkness he’d been fighting though so he tried to push them away.  Instead, he thought of Danneel and the child he’d seen in his visions.  He thought of the day he could return home with Jared to be with them. 

They rode to the valley floor and their travel became faster.  As if sensing his mood, Kane rode quickly with Abel at his side.  Murray was behind Jensen, taking the rear guard position.  Jensen found the presence of Murray at his back to be soothing and he relaxed a little as the motion of the horse gave him something else to concentrate on.

When they reached the end of the path, Abel and Kane stopped but Jensen kept moving forward.  He’d seen this valley before and he knew where he needed to go.  It didn’t take long before Jensen heard the rushing of water.  There was no river in the valley but Jensen had known that the water at the end of the valley disappeared.  He wasn’t sure how but he knew it to be true.  When he reached the end, there was a large waterfall with only a small pool at the bottom.

“Please tell me we aren’t going through that,” Murray said at his side.

Jensen couldn’t help but laugh as he pulled his horse to a stop.  “Yes, in full armor.  Better get ready.”

“Where to now?” Kane asked as he and Abel caught up to them.

Jensen pointed to a small cave to the left of the waterfall.  “There.  It will lead us further in.”

“A little plain, don’t you think?” Abel asked.

“For the resting place of the Crown of Kingdoms, I would say it’s a fitting entrance.”  Jensen didn’t say anything else, but led them to the entrance.  They had to leave the horses there, but they left them saddled in case they needed to run. 

Jensen walked through the cave, towards the back.  He stopped when he heard Kane mumbling as he walked out of the cave.  The knight only took a moment before he was back, two torches held in hand.  He took a minute to light one and handed the other to Abel.  Jensen didn’t wonder why he didn’t give one to Murray.  Kane was making certain Murray was able to defend Jensen without hindrance. 

Kane took the lead then, walking close to Jensen as they found a smaller cavern open up in the back.  Kane looked doubtful but he went in anyway.  The cavern grew gradually smaller until they walked twenty feet in and then it began to open up again.  When they reached the end of that cavern there was a doorway.  It was simple, but rough, with uncut gemstones lining the door. 

Jensen took a deep breath as he looked at Murray and then Kane.  Both knights were tense, but whereas Murray’s face showed his concern for Jensen, Kane’s eyes reflected the hope and faith that had brought the man so far away from the king he’d sworn to protect. 

“The Garden of Stones,” Jensen said softly to Kane.  Kane gave him a tight lipped smile in acknowledgement before Jensen turned back to the door and walked in.

No matter what he had in mind for the Garden of Stones that they’d read about, his imagination paled in comparison.  A small river ran through the cavern, cutting the walls into strange patterns and exposing the gemstones that were cultivated there.  A pathway was cut into the floor and gems from other areas of the Six Lakes Realm had been placed there and were smoothed from use.  The walls sparkled in the light and the flame of their two torches was enough to bring the room out of darkness. 

“The Palace of Presence,” Murray whispered softly and they all turned to look at him.

He didn’t take his eyes off the walls and as he spoke his mind seemed to be elsewhere.  “I spoke with the Torugans before we left.  It seemed prudent at the time to see what they knew, especially with their fascination for the Prince.  They had rumors of the old days and some corresponded with what we were taught of the old ways.  One of the things they spoke of was the Palace of Presence.  The High King had a throne but he was not a ruler in the sense that we now think of.  He had no army to enforce his will nor the ability to strip rulers of their power.  What he had was a strong will, a clear mind, and the ability to help others communicate and see other’s intentions.  He had no castle, but in times of need, he would come to the Palace of Presence and be seen.  People would come from all of the six kingdoms to see him there during the Shepard’s moon and there would be a celebration where the rulers joined together for council.  Most importantly though, it was said that here the High King sat on a throne of jade and was able to reach out to the rules of each kingdom and speak to them.”

“And the Torugan hid the crown here?” Abel asked.  “Doesn’t seem like a very good hiding place.”

Kane let out a small snort.  “We passed through this valley more than once.  If King Gerald had ever gotten his hands on it, the realm wouldn’t have been the same.”

“It’s a good thing no one thought to adorn the door more then or I’m sure he would have.”  Murray answered.

Jensen thought about the scrolls they’d read and the stories he’d heard from the Torugan himself.  He thought about his husband and the faith he put in the ideal of a High King.  “You said the High King could speak to any ruler.  How does that work?”

It was Kane who answered.  “The High King was supposed to be able to talk to each of the rulers.  Danneel believed it was about the bloodlines and the specific ceremonies they used to crown a new king in each kingdom.”  Jensen nodded and Kane gave him the first smile he’d seen since he lost his temper at the knight.  “Your wife was determined to understand how a High King would make peace between the nations.  She spent years watching Jared be sent off to war and she wanted more than that for her family.”

“Thank you,” Jensen said softly.  Kane watched him for a minute before nodding. 

When Jensen turned his attention back to the room, he found himself entranced at the way the lights danced off the walls and into the water.

“We need to go further.”

They walked down the walkway and allowed its winding path to take them where it would.  It was warmer under the mountains but high above shafts of light began to shine through.  The space alongside the pathway was dark earth and red clay and white sands in parts, each filled with gems that would earn them a fair wage if they were to take it for trade.  Abel was awed by the stones and Kane kept his eye on the path ahead.  Murray seemed transfixed by the river.

“The water above must be trickling down into the rocks to feed the river,” Murray said as they walked.   “You can hear it growing louder ahead.  Somewhere under all this rock, I think there is a great river.”

Jensen didn’t doubt the knight’s words.  They kept going until they passed through a great archway of stone pillars created by lifetimes of moisture and gravity, sparking with the minerals they carried.

It was spectacular and Jensen wished he had time to appreciate the beauty of it, but that would have to wait for later days.  If they managed to do what they came too, there would be time later to come back for an extended visit.  For now, they had a purpose.

“Anyone hear any rumors or read anything about where a crown would be hidden in this mysterious cave of ours?” Abel asked.  “I don’t know about you, but I think we might need a map.”

An hour ago Jensen wouldn’t have been unable to smile, but he let out a small laugh at the scout’s words.  “Let’s keep moving forward.  If the crown was left here, then whoever brought it would probably have left some sort of sign.”

They kept walking, though they stopped periodically when one of them became overwhelmed by the beauty of the cavern.  The river grew wider as they walked and their path began to include bridges over to the other side of the water.  Jensen felt lighter as they traveled and he knew that he would find whatever he had been looking for.  Something was there in the cavern with them; he could feel it calling to him. 

He sped up without meaning to, but the others were close behind him.  He could feel Murray’s impatience as well as Kane’s concern.  Abel was filled with an excitement that seemed to spark in Jensen’s mind.  He moved through the cavern with more speed and Jensen couldn’t help but run his fingers over the walls, feeling the roughness slide against his palm interspersed with the gemstones of the world above their heads.

He had no idea how long he’d walked but he stopped as he reached a new chamber.  On the far side were two doorways that led further on, but opposite of Jensen was a wall of light.  The sun shone down on the wall and caught on the gems that had been positioned by human hands and the minerals that time and weather had placed there. 

He walked forward slowly through white sands, though if they were from the beaches of his homeland or the Torugan deserts he could not tell.  Both had their share of white sands and Jensen wondered if perhaps that was the point of it’s place there in the first place.  There was no one place in the Six Lakes Realm that held a wonder that no other did not.  They had once been a united kingdom and that had been their glory; as a whole, not as units separated.

There was no other movement but his own in the chamber and he knew if he looked back that Murray, Abel, and Kane were watching him intently.  He let out a deep breath as he approached the other side of the room. 

It was a magnificent chamber, a place to speak to many people at once and to dazzle them with the opulence and majesty of the High King.  As he stepped forward, his eyes began to make out a throne carved out of the stone wall. 

“It’s here,” he said quietly.  His voice echoed off the walls so that the others heard him and they began to come closer as well.  When Jensen reached the throne there was no crown and there was no hiding place to conceal one that he could see.  On the seat of the throne though was a single green gemstone.

He had no idea what it was, but at the same time he knew that this was what had been calling to him for so long.  He reached out a hand for the stone and gasped when it rose from the cold stone on its own.  It circled above him and Jensen turned to look at the others.  The stone settled in the air in front of him before he could speak to them though.  It moved closer and when Jensen closed his eyes, he felt the stone pressed between his eyes.  There was no crown waiting for someone to steal.  It had always been Jensen’s to claim and he knew that it would accept no other while he lived. 

When Jensen opened his eyes, Murray and Abel were staring at him, but Kane dropped to his knees with tears in his eyes.   “All hail the High King.”

 

**

 

It was happening faster than Jared had expected, even having been through as many battles as he had.  Jared and his men had been waiting on the outskirts of the castle, waiting on the hopes that Jesina would be able to open it tonight.  He had no idea how she expected to get away from Megan and have free access to the wall, but she had proven herself to be a true Pelagian.

He didn’t get a chance to see her on the wall before the castle gates began to open.  Jared’s men and those men that they’d been able to gather of the Pelagian forces were ready for it though.  Jared rushed forward with Cohen and Benedict behind him; Lehne was already at the gates having hidden on the other side of the walkway. 

A cry went out inside the castle but Jared had expected that.  Jesina might be able to get the gates open but there was no way to mask the sound of its opening or to keep other sentries from seeing it from their other stations.

Jared dashed through the opening to find Jesina there with a handful of armed men and Ruden.  He pulled her into a quick embrace even as his men began moving through the castle to secure the gate area.  “We were terrified,” he said into her hair.

She smiled up at him.  “And I refuse to let men die when I can do my part.  Our men are in the jails, anyone that even questioned Megan’s place in the castle.  I gathered those that had been waiting for a chance to rebel, but I could not figure out how to free those men.”

“Ruden, take her out of here to safety,” Jared said to the Torugan.  “At the southern dock, a ship is waiting with Joshua and men to keep him safe if this turns out wrong.  She’ll be safe there.”

“Be careful, Jared.  She is your sister but she is devious.  She’ll fight tooth and nail to keep this castle.”

“And I will fight tooth or nail to save it.  Don’t worry for me, Jesina.  Just be safe.”

Ruden pulled her away then and Jared grabbed Benedict.  “You remember where the cells are?”  When Benedict nodded Jared looked over at Lehne.  “I need the two of you to get down there and free the Pelagians.  Megan might leave them there during an attack but she might send someone down to kill them, to keep them from helping us.”

“Would she do that?” Lehne scowled at the idea.

Jared let out a deep breath.  “My father would have and she is proving to be his daughter.”

Benedict and Lehne left without hesitation and Jared was able to turn his attention back to his men.  The plan had been worked out long before this day.  In that, at least, Jared could thank his father.  Jared knew the best way to cripple the armies of the castle once they got through the gates.  Joshua had been taken aback with the speed in which Jared had planned the night, but Jared had confessed more than once his father’s plan to take over Pelagia.  They had debate long and hard in how best to do it. 

The men were already deployed; taking over the outer walls and moving further in to keep the castle gates clear.  Megan had taken the castle with few men but brutal force and Jared didn’t expect the fighting to last long, especially not once Benedict and Lehne got the men free from the jails in the lower levels of the castle.  Megan had expected the walls to keep Jared out and though she was as dangerous as their father could have wished, she didn’t have the experience that Jared did.  He would never have left the walls with so few men guarding them when there was the possibility of attack.  Maybe Megan hadn’t expected an attack, or maybe she’d expected a siege the way Jared and his father had planned, but the men in the castle weren’t well stationed.  The Torugan with her fought well, but they were outnumbered by the men Jared brought with him.

It would be a short fight for the Pelagian castle, Jared thought as he pulled his sword from his sheath, but it would be bloody.

**

Her heart was heavy and Queen Danneel stared down into the early morning light and tried not to let the sight discourage her.  “They’ve stopped coming,” she said softly to her companions.  “It won’t be long before their siege weapons are built and they try to tear the castle apart.”

“King Gerald knew what he was doing when he planned this castle,” Orator Beaver responded.  “It will take long days of battering before any of these walls give and it’s built on solid rock.  The men are ready to fight as soon as you give the word.”

“You surely don’t plan on leaving the safety of the castle walls?” Orator Morgan asked.

“No Kandili king has ever stayed behind the walls during a siege.  The castle was well conceived to allow the front gates to open and our men to leave without leaving the rest of the castle in jeopardy.  The Kandilihar knights have always defended us with honor,” Danneel answered the orator.  She felt pride in the men that served her, in the men who had fought alongside her husband and brother and defended one another.  She had no doubt that the Kandili knights would see them through the worst of nights.

“Your Majesty, there is no reason to leave the castle.  Orator Beaver said there is little chance of a wall breach.  What reason is there to fight these men off?  The Torugan are fierce fighters.  Gerald tried your soldiers against them more than once and it was always a draw.  This is not the time for rash thinking.  Let the Torugans knock their heads against the castle walls until they’ve run out of provisions and see how futile the siege is.”

“And what of my people’s homes?  What do I tell my people when their homes are burnt and their livestock is settling the in our enemy’s belly?”

Orator Morgan stood before her and let out a deep breath.  “You tell them that none of their husbands or brothers died.  You tell them their children will not lose their fathers.”

Danneel turned away, cursing the tears than sprung to her eyes.  Her child was inside, asleep with the wet nurse to watch over him.  She refused to name him without her husband present, so she simply called him her sweet child.  More than one of her visitors had looked at her oddly when she told them she would wait for Jared to name him, but Danneel had no intention of doing this without him.  She refused to believe he wouldn’t return home to them. 

Every instinct in her told her that she should throw the might of Kandilihar Cavalry against the Torugan and Ruvien mercenaries that threatened her people, but Morgan’s words struck true.  How many men would die when she opened the gates?  If she delayed long enough, the men outside the gates would run into supply issues and they might grow tired or sloppy.  Gerald had truly built a castle made to withstand a siege though she knew he would never have condones hiding behind its walls.  He was a man that believed in retribution and the might of his sword arm.  Danneel didn’t have that here though.  Jared had been his father’s Swordarm, and when Jared had become king, Christian had taken that honor.  She was without them and while her heart said she should throw herself into the heart of the battle, she couldn’t disregard the lives of the men that would be lost.

Danneel looked over to Orator Beaver but in the past few weeks she’d seen the Orator more tight lipped than ever before.  Jim might not always agree with what was said, but he never allowed it to stop him from speaking his mind before.  She wasn’t sure what she’d hoped, but Jim’s silence filled her with dread and she bowed her head slightly before looking up at Morgan.  “You are a wise councilor.  We will stay behind the walls, for now.”

The orator moved away but Jim moved closer to the wall, letting his hands rest on the cool stone.  “You have little say on the affairs of state lately,” she said softly as she settled beside him.

“Morgan seems to have enough to say for all of us, and he has the Queen’s ear.”  Jim’s voice was bitter and Danneel could feel her eyes widen at his words.  “He may be a wise councilor but this isn’t Pelagia and he doesn’t understand how or why we do things the way we do them in Kandilihar.  You might want to remember that you have a Kandili backbone too, Your Majesty.”

He left before she could respond to his angry words.  She let out a shaky breath and turned back to look at the army that was waiting outside of the castle walls.  The walls were always a cold comfort to her when her husbands were gone from her, but even the familiar look of the Kandili valley was blotted out with the foreign army in the way.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, gathering her strength around her like armor.  She was as alone as she had ever been, but she would not fail her husbands or her people, no matter how her heart doubted.

**

The slash on Jared's thigh itched but he kept himself from scratching at it.  He'd sat through darker meetings with far worse injuries but for some reason this wound bothered him far more than the others had.  Jesina smiled at Jared from her seat on the dais though and Jared couldn’t help but smile in response.  Next to her, Joshua sat on his father's throne, looking regal and every bit as lost as Jared had felt the first time he'd taken on the responsibility of the throne.

It was a heavy day.  There had been casualties on both sides and while Jared knew most of the men and women in the Pelagian castle wouldn’t mourn for the Torugan, some of those men had died trying to right the wrongs done by the others.

Jared wanted to be out of the room, to be tracking down his sister, but he knew it was impossible.  He’d seen Megan towards the end of the fighting, surrounded by a group of men as they raced her out of the castle and towards the docks.  Jared had no doubt she would make it, especially not when he saw the one fighter among them; Carlson. 

Jared had mourned for his friend when he’d realized Megan must have killed him in the fire at the inn but Jared almost wished it for him now.  It was better to have died an honorable death defending those he loved than to find out he was a traitor and he’d betrayed his brothers-in-arms. 

“King Jared,” Jared pulled away from his thoughts and took a step forward towards the newly crowned king. 

“Brother,” Jared answered.  Jared saw the way Joshua’s lips turned up in an almost smile and he knew he’d done the right thing.  Megan’s treachery could cause a huge gash in his relationship with the Pelagian family, but Joshua had always known Jared had nothing to do with it.  Jared and Joshua both wanted the Pelagian castle to know that whatever else had happened, the ties between Kandilihar and Pelagia would continue to grow stronger.

“Your men have been a great aid to us as we regained the throne.  I cannot thank you enough for the aid, or for finding the allies that you brought forward in our time of need.”

Ruden refused to be acknowledged in any way before the Pelagian court, something that frustrated Jared and Joshua.  He was not the king of his people though and he said his honor would not take the insult if he was acknowledged for his actions before he had a chance to prove Stuart false.  Jared didn’t understand it entirely himself, but Joshua was giving him a chance to acknowledge the good the Torugan’s had done before the court in a way that would appease them all.

“We were fortunate to have the strength of the Torugan clans to right the wrongs done by my sister.  I can only hope that we can do more to end the grief that Megan of Donara has caused.”

Joshua nodded.  “My men have had no word of her yet.  Could she have escaped?”

Jared nodded.  Once the fighting had been done, he hadn’t had time to speak with Joshua.  He’d called the courts to him and began at once to show his authority to settle the people.  He wished he could have talked to the man about it when they were alone, but Carlson’s betrayal would be known soon enough.

“She did escape.  I saw a group of Stuart’s men fighting a way through the castle gates with her.  I wasn’t able to get to her or I would have brought her to you myself for judgment.”

“I was afraid of that.  It would have been better to have her under guard.  I fear what she will do elsewhere in the world.”

“As do I,” Jared said with a tired sigh.  He wanted to find a meal and a bed, but he knew that though Pelagia was now in its rightful hands, he still had another battle to undertake.  “She was not alone in her treachery,” Jared turned to look at Cohen and Benedict then.  There were other men that would be affected by his next words, but Cohen and Benedict had been a part of Jared’s own lance of horsemen and they had known Carlson more personally than the others had.  “Carlson was with her, defending her as they moved through the gates.”

“No,” Jared would have missed the whisper from Cohen if he hadn’t been watching for it.  Benedict, however, didn’t seem to be surprised at all.  When Jared met his eye, Benedict sighed. 

“Carlson protected the Princess before her marriage to the Donaran Prince.  He was unhappy about the arrangement at the time and he made certain that he was her guard when she was in Pelagia on Donaran business.  He was always closer to her than he let the royal family see.  I think he had … hopes.”

“What sort of hopes?” Jared asked.  He was afraid to hear what Benedict might say, but the man was a good scout for a reason.  Jared had no doubt if Collins or Abel were there that they would say the same thing. 

“The Queen of Kandilihar was peasant-born and no one expected King Gerald to sell Megan’s hand in marriage for a political alliance.  I think he hoped a knight of renown could win the Princess’ hand.”

Jared let out a small snort of disgust; betrayed for love of a woman who was even more treacherous than the knight was. 

Jared turned back to Joshua.  “This treachery was in my own court, unlooked for.  For now Megan and Carlson are loose in the world and we know where Megan has her eye set.”

“You will return to Kandilihar then?”

“I have been away from my home for far too long.  I have done what I could to right the wrongs done by my kin, but I have to turn homeward now.  Danneel will keep the castle for us, but she will need more than the men she has to turn the tides of battle.”

“And my brother?”

Jared sighed.  “If I know your brother, he’s lost on a journey that I could not begin to track.  He searches for something that will put an end to my sister’s plans and that would unite the Six Lakes Realm.  He chose to make this journey with a few good men and I fear that must remain the same.  As much as I would like to go to my husband, our paths still remain divided.”

Joshua nodded.  “For all my own abilities, I have had no premonitions of my brother.   If I had, I might have  tried to guide you to him, but you are right.  We have no way of following his path or I would send as many Pelagian knights as could stand to travel.  You must rest though.  We will have food prepared for you and your men, and provisions for the journey ahead.”

“You have my thanks,” Jared said with a bow of his head.

“And you have mine, Brother.”

Jared was ready to turn to leave the King’s audience hall when a group of men came striding in.  Jared moved before the dais, his men – Kandili and Torugan – moved with him.  The men were sailors, rough and dirt encrusted but armed before the king. 

The captain stopped before the assembly and looked at Jared before looking at the dais and smiling.  He dropped to one knee and the men with him followed. 

“Captain Sheppard, we have long wondered what had become of the Pelagian navy.  What word have you?”

"Your Majesty," Sheppard said as he looked up to the king.  "I received orders from King Alan to find the source of the pirate attacks on the Pela Sea.  His orders were specific; I was to sail to Lastoran if there was any sign of trouble in Pelagia at our return.  By the time we arrived here, the Torugan flag flew above the castle so I followed orders and awaited word from Prince Sebastian.  He was a true friend to Pelagia and gave us a place to rest and stores to fill our larders as we waited for word of what had happened in Pelagia. It was on his orders that we returned when we did.  Two days ago we crossed the Kandili coast border and we found the pirate army, under Princess Megan's flag, sailing towards Pelagia.  Under Prince Sebastian's orders we engaged the enemy before they could bring men and goods to the castle.  We have the survivors in the brig, waiting your orders."  
  
Jared looked back at Joshua who motioned Jared aside.  Jared let go of his sword hilt and stepped to the side and the men behind him fell back into place.  Jared didn't move back to the sides though.  He stood at the base of the dais to one side, ignoring the questioning look the captain gave him.  
  
"It would seem that we owe Lastoran a debt of gratitude then.  Captain, we will have a full debriefing as soon as we can retire from these chambers."  
  
The captain and his men backed into the crowd then and Joshua stood, offering his sister his hand.  Jesina took it, standing tall and proud at his side.  She would make a brilliant advisor and Jared would make sure that Joshua took advantage of it, or he would send for her himself.  Jensen would surely love to have his sister close to him.  
  
Jesina took a step towards the Torugan men who had come with Jared and he could see the Pelagian soldiers who had been captured in the castle tense.  She smiled softly as Ruden took a step forward.  "Your honor is not yet met, Shama, and will not be until you prove Stuart is shama'che.  As a man though, you have shown great honor to me.  You followed me into danger though you did not know if I could deliver on the promises I gave you.  You helped me save the lives of many of my countrymen who may have died trying to breach our castle walls, and helped find a way to open the gates so that my home would not be destroyed.  I am no Torugan to understand what your honor means to you, but among the Pelagian people, you have proved yourself to be a great man.  I hope that you remember, in the days to come, that we are not all faithless."  
  
Jared saw the way Joshua looked at his sister then and he knew the king would not underestimate his sister again.  
  
Ruden bowed his head low.  "I hope you will remember, in time, that the Torugan are not either."  
  
Jesina returned to Joshua's side then and Joshua looked back to Jared.  "I believe Captain Sheppard’s words will concern you as we'll, King Jared.  Ambassador Pileggi has arrived and I would welcome you to our discussion," Joshua offered.  "And any you wish to bring.  There will be a full table as we hear from our allies, so that you may break your fast as we hear the latest news."  
  
Jared bowed his head slightly.  "I would be glad to join your table, King Joshua."  
  
The people in attendance began to dissipate and a servant came forward to show him to a room.  He ignored them for a moment and found Ruden and Lehne.  
  
"Will you join us at the King's table?"   Ruden nodded but Jared could see Lehne's reluctance.  
  
"It would not be appropriate for me to sit at the King's table, though I thank you for the offer."  
  
Jared looked to Ruden for understanding but the other man just watched Lehne.  Jared had no idea how to proceed but he knew he wanted Lehne at his side.  The Torugan hadn't backed down from facing his actions so far and Jared didn't know why he was now.  He had a moment's wish that his husband was there with him to navigate this conversation.  
  
"You freed me from my sister who would have killed me soon enough.  You led us to your people and helped convince them to stop Stuart.  I have no right to be there if you do not."

Lehne watched him for a moment before he finally nodded his head.  “I will be there with you then, if only to make certain you attend.”

Jared smiled at him and clapped him on the back.  He knew how hard it was for the Torugan to bend their necks and Lehne was doing that for him.  “Thank you.  Now get cleaned up and meet me in my rooms before we head to Joshua’s council.”

Lehne turned and walked away, being led by a servant who looked as uncomfortable to be showing him to his rooms and Lehne looked to be led.  Jared just shook his head and found the servant who had offered to take him to his rooms.  He just hoped he wasn’t given the same room he’d woken up in when Megan had held him.

He was led towards the family’s living quarters in the castle and Jared was surprised when he was led to Jensen’s suite.  He hadn’t been to visit those rooms when he’d come on his last visit; he’d feared his good intentions to court Jensen would be pushed to far if he was surrounded by Jensen in his own private room, but now it was a needed balm to his nerves.  He thanked the servant and quickly stepped in.  He closed the door slowly and stood there with his head bowed against the wood.  When he turned around, he took a deep breath and looked around at the room that was his husband’s home.  A large bookcase was filled with books on one side and a large window overlooked the island’s east sea port and beyond that the Pela Sea. 

A table sat under the window and Jared could imagine Jensen sitting there with whatever work he had to attend to each day.  There was a bowl in the center of the table with green sea glass and Jared picked a few pieces up, letting them fall back through his fingers into the bowl.  Jensen had a smaller bowl of them in the wedding suites in Kandilihar and he would sit at the table there, letting his fingers play through the stones as he tried to wrap his mind around his troubles.  He did it unconsciously and Jared felt closer to his husband as his fingers closed over the stones again.

He sat at the table, looking over the sea, fingers closing and unclosing on the stones again and again, losing himself in the memories of his wife and husband, and hoping that he would see them both soon.

**  
  


It wasn’t instantaneous.  Jensen sat on the jade throne and looked over at Kane, Murray and Abel.  The other two men had bowed down on one knee after Kane’s pronouncement.  Abel was easy enough to read; the awe on his face gave way to the awe in his heart but Jensen could feel the truth of the Jade crown in that moment.  He couldn’t just read Abel’s face, but he could feel what he felt.  When Jensen turned his eye to Kane, there was a fierce determination behind everything he did; a need to prove himself and protect those he loved.  He could feel the love Kane had for his sister like a bright glowing sun against the rest of his life.  Danneel was the warmth and light that he fought for.  Jensen could feel the fondness and affection that Kane felt for him and he backed away from it immediately.  It seemed unfair to pick apart his feelings when he had no way of keeping Jensen from it.  It was heartwarming though, to know he had fallen under the knight’s guard and that he viewed Jensen with the same feelings of friendship that Jensen shared.

When Jensen turned his eyes to Murray, there was so much turmoil in the knight’s heart.  Jensen nearly gasped with the complexity of needs in the other man who had always presented himself as so stoic and calm.  There was integrity and honor in Murray’s every action, but beneath it was the love he felt for Jensen, the pride that he had helped Jensen become the man he was.  When Jensen poked at the confusion tangled up in all of it, he found the burning love that was directed entirely at Kane.  It was an all-encompassing feeling and Jensen had no idea how Murray had kept himself from acting on it when it was so entrenched in who the man had become.  He had known the love that Murray felt for Kane and he was certain it was returned in equal measure, but he had never felt anything like it before and he felt the dual needs to scream at the stupidity of the two men for denying themselves, and to fall to his knees and thank them both for the strength of their devotion to his family.

He closed his eyes to close the connection he felt with the men in the room and took a deep breath.  When he set his head back against the throne he looked up, and at the back of the stalactites above him where carved the symbols of the Six Lakes kingdoms.  Some were old, archaic forms but most retained the same flag above their castle today in some form.  Jensen’s heart skipped when he saw the Pelagian crest above his head and he thought of his father and mother, his sister and brothers who had died at Megan’s hands.  He could only hope that Jared had found a way to protect his family and that they’d managed to stay safe while Joshua tried to take back the throne.

He thought of his brother and suddenly Jensen could see him as clearly as if he was in the same room with him.  His mind felt shattered as others filled the space, minds he had never known and some he would never have hoped to.  Joshua was there, relief covered his mind to be seeing Jensen in some way, grief over their family still strong in his heart, but pride that he had recovered the throne and that Jensen had found the one thing that Joshua and their father had feared would be his one day.  Prince Daren of Donara was next, concern and fear rippled in Jensen’s mind.  The Prince feared the retribution of Kandilihar for Megan’s actions though he himself had not given her aid.  He would never have acted in such a manner, nor would the Academy Council, and Jensen knew then that Abel had been right about the Prince.

Prince Sebastian flowed into his head next, wonder and amusement as if he were now party to a show of great entertainment.  Jensen felt fond of the man immediately, though they had not yet met.  King Alan had spoken highly of Sebastian and Jensen understood why now.  There was dedication and a keen intelligence behind his amused expression and he had no doubt he was a man to be taken seriously when the need arose. 

Prince Lesaren of Ruvien was uncertain of the intrusion in his mind but he grieved for the loss of the Pelagian royal family and Jensen took comfort in that at least.  Lesaren might not have been a friend of Pelagia, but he had understood the fine balance of power that had long hung between the kingdoms and how close it all was to fraying beyond repair.   King Stuart was close behind Lesaren, cold and calculating, with Princess Megan close to his mind.       

Before he could process all of that, he felt the soothing calm of love and his mind reached for his wife, feeling her steadying presence.  Danneel was tired and scared, but he could feel the love of her family and the joy at having a son to present to them when they were able to come home to her.  He nearly sobbed with the news but Megan crowded into his thoughts then, fear and hate and anger wrapped around his mind and he clutched at his head to try to gain control of the thoughts and emotions swirling through it.  Megan knew who he was, what he was, and she’d been trying to steal that power from him since the day she’d happened upon a prophecy that named him the next High King. 

He fell from the jade throne but even as he screamed with the pain, wonder and awe and love filled his mind again, taking the pain and anger that had threatened to overwhelm him.

“Jensen?”

He could hear Jared as surely as if he was standing before him, and Jensen could see him clearly in his mind’s eye, just as he had Joshua a moment before.

“Jared?”

Jared’s smile was blinding and Jensen wanted to be there to wrap himself up in his husband, to take away the feuding thoughts and emotions that were still tumbling through his head.   “You found it,” Jared stated.  There was pride and something like worship in his heart and Jensen couldn’t help but smile because he had already known that Jared felt that way towards him.  This newest level of bonding between them simply enhanced his ability to see it.

“I did.  And you did what you set out to do,” Jensen said with a relieved sigh. 

“You can thank your sister for that,” Jared confessed.

“Or lock her in a tower like I plan to, once you find out what she did,” Joshua added.

It was then that Jensen realized the true extend of what he was doing.  He wasn’t reading the minds of the rules of the Six Lakes Realm.  He had brought them all together in his mind.  They were all there, and it was Jensen who had the power to bring them. 

“She is safe then?” Jensen asked.  He could feel Joshua exasperation and affection for their sister and he already knew she was.

“Yes, Ruden saw to her safety even when she threw it away,” Jared answered.

“It seems I owe a debt to two Torugan then,” Jensen said with a grin.  It was then that another figure stepped into his mind.  It was a surprise to Jensen, but he could feel it was right.  There was contention against the rule of a kingdom and the contender had every right to be a party to this discussion.

“Lehne, we meet in strange times,” Jensen greeted the man.

There was a single focus as Jensen turned his attention to the Torugan and he felt the clarity of the others join him.  Where he had just seen the others before, he could see them all now and he knew that they were able to see and hear one another as well.

“What witchery is this?” Stuart demanded.

Jensen was about to speak but it was Daren who stepped forward.  “The Torugan nation has a prophecy of the returning of the days of old, to a time when betrayal will roll the world onto its side, and of a Kandili prince who would bring back the old crown.  You let yourself be led into believing it was a Kandili princess who would bring you the jade crown, but we were all led astray,” Daren said as he looked back at Jensen.  “It was indeed with the thunder of Kandili hooves that the High King took the world, but the prophecy did not say that the Kandili started life as a Pelagian prince.  Your Majesty, Donara bows to the High King.”

The Prince of Donara suited action to word then, and bowed down on one knee.  Lesaren didn’t speak but followed him to his knees.  Sebastian smiled at Jensen.  “Why not?  You certainly do have style,” the Lastoran Prince said as he went to his knee.  Jensen could feel the strength of the man’s leadership though and he knew Sebastian had thought of this day more than once.  He was comforted with the thought of his father in the other man’s mind and the knowledge that Alan had confided in him as a friend and not just a ruler.

“This means nothing,” Megan said as she stood tall.  He hated that she was there, this betraying wretch who was trying to destroy everything that he loved but she had the same right to be there as Lehne and Jensen didn’t have the power to withhold her from the assemblage.  “I don’t know how you did it, but the Jade Crown isn’t a finder’s treasure.  You have no right to that crown.”

“It means nothing, no matter if you have a right to it,” Stuart countered.  “I will bow to no crown.”

“You will bow to me,” Lehne said, stepping forward.  “Stuart of Toruga, you are shama’che, faithless and honorless.  When we meet on the battlefield, you will bow before a new Torugan king, or you will die defending your lies.”

Stuart laughed.  “You think you have the strength to take my throne?” Stuart demanded.  “You think the Torugan will follow you away from the battlefield to bow before a weak fool?”

Lehne nodded.  “They follow me already, those that were not already ordered to your fight.  We will meet and you will find your woman is nothing more than the Betrayer of old and you walked away from the path of the fathers for the sins of the flesh.”

“Enough!” Joshua barked at the two of them.  Stuart glared but Lehne backed down.  When Lehne looked at Jensen he gave him a crooked smile.  “You knew?”

Jensen smiled.  “Ruden is a good shama, but he looked to you when I had a knife at his throat.  It was a clever ruse and one that I would have missed had I not been as focused on your protection of my husband.  Ruden watched you closely to see what part you wanted him to play.”

Lehne bowed down on one knee then, “You are a fair man and already wiser than your predecessor.”

“I would hope so,” Joshua said, stepping up beside Lehne, “he gets it from his older brother.”

Joshua bent to his knee and Jensen let out a shaky breath at the show of support.  He had never doubted his brother would follow a high king but seeing him like that was humbling, especially with the constant murmur or respect and approval he felt from Joshua.

“I wish I was with you, to see you upon the throne,” Jared said softly.  Danneel was close to him in Jensen’s mind but there were worlds apart still and Jensen ached to be with them.  Danneel watched Jared though, with hunger and concern and love and Jensen knew his own heart reflected hers. 

“The Garden of Stones is magnificent,” Jensen answered.  “It would be even more so with the two of you here with me.”

“Three of us,” Danneel said with a growing smile.

“Three?” Jared asked.  For the first time Jensen was able to really look at her, to see the way her stomach was no longer rounded with child.  She looked pale and tired but healthy as she stood before them.

“Your son would not want to miss such a sight.”

Jensen felt the surge of love from Jared and he felt like he was drowning between them.  He felt hands on his arm and looked up, surprised to see Kane before him, holding his arms.

“Jensen?”

He realized that he was still on his knees and from the concern in the knight’s voice that Kane had been trying to get his attention for some time.  “I’m fine,” Jensen said as he blocked the others from his sight for a moment, focusing on the men before him.  “Danneel has given birth and is doing well.  The boy is healthy and has a strong pair of lungs,” Jensen said as he stood with the knight’s help.  He sat back on the throne and looked at Kane.  “I need more time.”

He didn’t know if Kane understood what was happening, but he simply nodded.  Murray was towards the front of the cavern with Abel at the back.  Kane stationed himself at Jensen’s side and Jensen knew there had never been another king who had been so well protected as he was at that moment.

He turned his attention back to the others and felt the growing concern in his spouses.  “Forgive me, Kane needed news of his sister and nephew,” he said, hoping to dispel their concern.  He didn’t want them to know that he wasn’t in control of the connection just yet and couldn’t give the others that sign of weakness. 

“Now isn’t a time for reunions though, as much as I could wish it were,” Jensen said.

Jared nodded but before Jensen could say anything else, his wife bowed low to the ground.  Jared dropped to both knees with his head bowed to the High King and Jensen sucked in a breath.  “Kandilihar bows to the High King.”

“You were always a weak fool, Jared,” Megan hissed.  “Do you drop to your knees every night for him brother?  Are you wife enough for him?”

Jared’s anger flashed but Jensen stepped forward.  “I didn’t bring you together to bandy names and insult one another.  Megan of Donara, you have entered the Pelagian castle under false claims and murdered the rightful king and queen.  Do you deny this?”

The other rulers were standing around them and Megan glared at him, fists clenched at her sides.  “My father believed the Six Lakes Realms must be united under a single ruler to remain strong.  He was right and I am the only one worthy of following in his footsteps to bring us all under one ruler.”

“You murdered Alan?” Sebastian asked, his voice cold and hard.

Megan turned to look at him, sneering.  “He was the only king in the Six Lakes Realm worthy of a fight,” she hissed.  “He was a strong king and I regret that he had to die, but he would never have accepted a Kandili Protectorate.”

Sebastian took a step back but Jensen pushed forward.  He could feel the anger of the others.  It still rankled in the others that Gerald had stolen their crowns and forced them to the title of Prince of a Kandili Protectorate.  It bothered them that Jared had not yet returned their kingdoms to them.  Jensen knew his husband’s intent though.

“Do you deny that you have an army of Torugan warriors and Ruvien mercenaries at the gates of the Kandilihar castle waiting for your orders to attack?”  He spoke to Megan and Stuart then and the Torugan king scoffed. 

“Is this what the High King is?  A man who speaks the obvious and has no power to do anything about it?  And these so-called men would bow to you as if you were worthy of such a claim.”

Jensen looked at the others.  “I have no power to stop you.  It was never in the power of the High King to make decisions for the rulers of the Six Lakes Realms.  It was his power to unite them though, to bring a true purpose to the Kingdom of Crowns and to see that they all prospered.  What you are doing, Stuart, is to make war upon a monarch who has offered only friendship to the Torugan people.  What you are doing, Megan, is to make war upon a brother who loved you and that you blame for another’s actions.  Neither can be condoned.”

“Pelagia will stand up for Kandilihar,” Joshua said solemnly. 

“Lastoran will stand up for Pelagia and Kandilihar,” Sebastian said on the heels of Joshua’s words.

“Donara will stand up against Megan,” Daren said, staring coldly at his wife.  Jensen could feel remorse in the man.  While Daren had been passing fond of Megan, he had no lost love for the woman he had married.  As much as Megan felt she had been forced into the marriage by her father, Daren had felt the same.  He was an older man who had no need for a young wife who cared for appearances and favor more than the concerns of a realm.  Megan had been a necessary evil to appease Gerald and keep him from tearing the Academy Council apart.

Megan didn’t even bother to look at her husband when he spoke. 

Lesaren watched the proceedings with a feeling of grief and Jensen wasn’t sure where it came from.  Finally, the Prince of Ruvien spoke.  “I cannot call away the mercenaries that have been hired by Megan and Stuart, but the Ruvien Legions are yours to order, Your Highness,” he said to Jensen.  Jensen was taken aback by that, but he understood Lesaren well enough.  He was not a warrior and he knew little of strategy.  He was offering Jensen his men to lead because he was not well enough versed in war to do it effectively. 

“Torugan men surround the Kandilihar castle, but not all of them,” Lehne spoke.  “We will leave men with Joshua, should he wish it, but the rest will come to Kandilihar’s aid.”

Jensen looked at Danneel and Jared and smiled.  “I already know the minds of the Kandili Triune and they will not back down from this fight until Megan and Stuard have received justice.”  He looked at the two conspirators then.  “You are waging an unfair war against the Six Lakes Realm.  We will not stop until you face your crimes.  Will you continue on your path?”

“You will die at my hands, Jensen, you and the Kandili Triune.  I will have what should have been mine,” Megan said, head help high and voice as cold and threatening as a sea snake.

Stuart just stared at him, not bothering to answer.    Jensen let out a deep breath and looked around him.  “War is already upon us.  I wish I had been able to see the truth in time to stop it, but my father believed all things had to happen in the right time and I hold to that belief.”  He looked to his wife and smiled at her.  “We are coming, Love.  Hold strong until we arrive.”

He let go of his connection to the others one by one, Megan and Stuart first and the others fell away quickly, except Danneel and Jared who he refused to release just yet, and Lesaren who clung to the bond in a way that Jensen knew he wished words in private.  When it was just the four of them, Jensen looked to the Prince of Ruvien.  “You have words you wish to speak?” he asked politely.

Lesaren nodded.  “I have men to offer you, but there is little time to get through the passes of the Divergence and reach Kandilihar in time.  What would you have me do, Your Majesty?”

Jensen knew it would be a long time before people used his name and stopped calling him Your Majesty.  It had taken him long enough to get the people of Kandilihar’s castle to call him by name and he feared he would be back to the beginning with that again once he returned home, but he pushed aside the annoyance and thought about what he could do next.  

He felt a flash of pain, felt memories rush into his head and he fell to his knees again, clutching his head.  He was in the cavern and still in his head but at the same time, he was in a hundred different times and places.  Thoughts and experiences passed to him and even as he reached past the pain he found the information he needed.  “Go to the Divergence,” Jensen told Lesaren.  “There is another way to Kandilihar and we will take the path together.”

Lesaren nodded before the bond disconnected, leaving Jensen with his husband and wife.  They looked concerned but Jensen could barely keep his eyes open against the pain.  “I cannot remain here,” he told them softly.  “I need to let you go, but I’ll be with you soon.”

“I love you both,” Danneel spoke with the determination that had always been so strong in her.  “Come home to me safely.”

Jared nodded to her and looked between them.  “We will all be together soon.  Have faith in that.”

Jensen let go of the bond then, unable to hold it any longer though he wished he could confess his own love.  He had no strength for it though and he was alone in the cavern again, his head splitting as if he’d had a pike struck straight through.  Kane was with him again, cradling his head in his lap as his fingers worked in circles over his temple, the way Danneel did at times when Jensen’s nightmares were at their worst.

“Danneel does this too,” he whispered into the cavern.

Kane let out a relieved breath and Jensen worried that he had been like that for too long, but Kane just smiled.  “Does it help?”

“Yes.”

“It should.  I used to do it to her when she was little,” Kane said.  “For all my sister’s forceful presence, she used to let people get to her.  The noble’s daughter used to tease her mercilessly for who she was.  Danneel always outshined them and they were jealous.  She would keep her head held high in public but then she would curl up in my lap and cry because they were horrible to her.  All she wanted was to have friends to play with and there were few girls her age in the castle at that time.  Guess that’s why she started doting on her big brother too much,” Kane said with a grin.  “Not at all unlike the way she dotes on her husbands.”

Jensen smiled weakly.  The pain was still there, but Kane’s calming touch and his soft words were bleeding the energy from him.  He wasn’t aware of how long he remained like that, but when Kane told him to sleep and Murray’s voice teased that he couldn’t order the High King around the way he had a Prince, Jensen let himself go, knowing he was safe for the moment.

**

Danneel found herself unable to sit still.  Her son was fussy so she kept him in her arms, though after seeing Jared and Jensen, she knew she would have kept him close anyway.  She needed to feel that little bit of her husband today.  Jared looked haggard and too tired. She’d seen him come home like that too often, exhausted from the conflict and his mind a tangled mess as he tried to put the blood behind him and remember who he was.  He didn’t have the same look of conflict as he used to when he came home, though she knew it was because these were his choices now.  Jared rode for a cause he believed in instead of the wars his father had forced them into. 

Jensen had looked well, though she couldn’t help but be concerned with the way he had left them, pain in his eyes and being cut off before she could give him a proper good bye.  He had given her a chance to see them both though, and he had let her know her brother was well.  It was the most she could hope for just yet. 

Still, her feet propelled her through the castle until she was walking among the soldiers inside the inner wall.  She could feel the low morale and she took a deep breath, bolstering her own strength with the thought of her husbands coming soon.    

She sat with them, showing off her young prince and laughed and teased until her good cheer spread among them.  It wouldn’t last long, she knew, but the men were not used to waiting inside castle walls when there was a threat.  They were soldiers who were used to taking the offensive and the lack of activity was costing them.

She found Orator Beaver among the men and he came over, taking the young prince from her for a time, talking to him and showing him off to the men as she moved in other circles.  She missed Jared then and knew that he would handle this better than she.  Jensen would as well, her husband, the High King.  She hadn’t let that bit of news out yet but she knew that the time would come.  She knew Jared must be feeling the same awe that she did.  It had been Jared who had whispered his desires to her, after all, of a High King and a united Six Lakes Realm.  To have their husband sitting on the Jade Throne was most than she thought she could contain.  It buoyed her up when she felt her energy flagging though.  She had spent most of the afternoon with the men before Morgan came to find her. 

She took the prince from Beaver and they made their way over to the Pelagian orator who seemed so out of place with the Kandili men.  He had been a soldier in his younger days, but Morgan wasn’t a horse man and he didn’t understand the Kandili soldiers. 

“You should be resting, Your Majesty,” Morgan said as he came forward, smiling down at the prince.  “He is growing strong and he needs you to remain strong too.”

She sighed, understanding how Morgan felt about her being out of her rooms.  He was concerned for her health, but Danneel couldn’t keep to her rooms all day when there was war at their walls. 

Orator Beaver stopped in front of her, gripping her arm lightly until she looked at him.  “Much depends on the Queen keeping her strength.”  He walked off before she could respond to that, back into the crowd of soldiers.

Danneel let Morgan lead her back into the castle, but she couldn’t help but feel the foreboding of the other Orator’s words.  She had to keep the castle safe until her husbands arrived, but how long could she keep these men in the castle walls?  Was she being the strong queen they needed?  Or was she letting weakness rule them now?  She didn’t know. 

She retired to her room where she cleaned up and ate a small meal.  When the night came though, she was on the walls with her son in her arms.  She didn’t know that the men belong began to whisper about the return of the Fiery watch.

** 

Murray watched Jensen as he strapped his sword into place, trying to hide the concern he knew was in his eyes.  He couldn’t help but worry about Jensen.  The prince had been his responsibility for so long that he forgot what it was like to think of himself first. 

His eyes slid to Kane who stood behind the prince - the king, he corrected himself.  Of all the people he would have expected to make this journey with, he would never have thought the Kandili knight was capable or leaving his king to follow Jensen’s visions.  Kane had proved him wrong time and time again though with his dedication; not to his king, but to the vision his king had of a peaceful future for the Six Lakes Realm.  If there was anyone who could understand his need to protect Jensen, it would be the other knight.

Kane, however, was the one handing Jensen the sword to strap on and helping him buckle into the light armor that had been stashed among the relics in the cavern.  After Jensen had fallen asleep the night before, Kane had left Abel at his side, trusting Murray to watch the cavern in case of intruders.  Jensen hadn’t given away their location, but there was no telling what Megan knew.  Though Jensen had pulled them together in his mind, he still didn’t understand the workings of the bond and between the High King and the other rulers and he didn’t know where Megan was.  Murray believed he could tell if he tried, but no one was willing to watch him suffer through the pain he had just for her location. 

When Kane had come back, he’d had light armor for Jensen and began cleaning it up.  It wasn’t full armor that would stop his movement, but it would allow for some protection.  Murray thought it was more the point that it made Jensen look like a High King than anything else.  The armor had been well made and well stored though so it had cleaned up well, with jade embellishments that could attack a King’s robes if worn ornamentally.  They had no need for that sort of flashery though and Murray was happy enough to see that Kane wasn’t going to insist on it.

“Where will we go now, Your Majesty?” Murray asked. 

Jensen turned to look at him and Murray felt the weight of his stare.  They had been friends a long time but Murray had always known where their path had been headed.    He was too well versed in the lore of the old ways to let the signs go unnoticed.  He had brought them up to King Alan who had feared that Murray may be right.  It was before Gerald had died and Alan feared what the man would do if there was even a hint of their visions reaching the other king’s ears.  Alan and Joshua had done their best to shield Jensen from Alan then and Jensen had been none the wiser.  Murray liked to think that Jensen kept a blind eye on purpose, but it was hard to tell with his friend.  Jensen could be oblivious at times when it came to his own importance.

“I have a name still, Murray.”

Murray nodded but he didn’t say anything else. 

“We leave for the main pass of the Divergence.  Lesaren is coming with the Ruvien Legion.  We will meet him there and lead him and his men to Kandilihar.”

“We’ll never get there in time for this fight,” Murray said.

“We will,” Jensen said as he walked closer to Murray.  “Chad, you’ve been my protector and friend for as far back as I can remember.  I need you to remember that.  I need your support now more than ever.”

“You will always have my support.”

Jensen smiled at him, as if he’d needed to hear it.  Maybe Murray had as well because he felt lighter for the admission.

“I know.  Just before I broke contact with the crowns of the kingdoms I was rushed with memories and experience not my own.  I was shown the past and the memories of those men and women that had worn the Jade Crown before me.  There is a way to get to Kandilihar much quicker.  We have always been told that the Six Lakes Realm became known as such because of the large lake in each kingdom.  It is not entirely true.  The lakes are what remains of an old underground waterway .  The river use to connect the six kingdoms.  Over time, the water levels dropped and it became a supply road from one to another.  It has not been used in centuries but the road is still there.  We stand in the joining of its tributaries.     We will meet the Ruviens and lead them to another underground tributary that will take us straight to the water system that King Gerald built his castle on.”

 Kane and Abel joined them then.  “The king wouldn’t have been so careless,” Kane said.

“I don’t know why he did it, but the path is there.  I’ve seen it in the past and I’ve looked across the valley often enough to know my home even without the castle sitting in the center of the valley.”

Kane nodded but didn’t move as Jensen walked away, heading back to the throne.  Murray reached for Kane’s hand and the other knight looked at him in surprise.  Abel was there with them and Murray needed them both now.  “He is no longer a Pelagian Prince or a Kandili Prince Consort. He is the High King of the Kingdom of Crowns.  We go into battle.  I know you have your oath to King Jared, but the High King is without a guard, save one.”

“No, he isn’t,” Kane said before Murray could ask for the oath.  “We have followed him away from our king because of the oaths we have already sworn.  You wouldn’t know this, but the men who serve Jared, who fought at his side with him, are all sworn to serve the Jade Crown as well.  It was always Jared’s vision and he made certain we would be as dedicated to his search as he was.  Jensen will have his own honor guard to serve him in time, but until then we three protect him above all else.”

When Murray looked at Abel there was no hesitation as he nodded.  Murray let out a relieved breath.  Abel walked away then, standing close to Jensen as they talked about the road ahead.  Murray turned to retrieve his gear but found himself spun around, facing Kane.  “I know who you serve, Murray, just remember that there are those that would mourn you if you died for your King.”

Murray wanted to remind Kane of the same thing, but he bit his tongue.  Christian was the sort of man to chastise others for doing the very thing that he was doing himself.  “I know of only two that would mourn,” he said instead.

Christian watched him for a second before pressing his hand to his heart in a gesture that was far too telling.  “Not all men mourn the same.  If you die in this battle, I will see it avenged or I will fall in the attempt.”

“Remember those words, Christian,” Murray said, pleased with the small start that the knight gave as he used his first name.  He didn’t need to look up to know that Jensen and Abel were both watching their interaction, even if they couldn’t make out the words.  “You aren’t the only one to believe in them.”

When he walked away to begin packing his gear there was silence in the cavern.  After a few seconds, the others began moving around again.  It would be time to move out soon and they all had their duties to perform before the time came.

**

The night was cool and Scout Collins stood on the walls looking over the army below them.  He’d sat up on the wall often, watching the Queen Consort but tonight he was alone.  Their own men waited on the inside of the castle wall but the morale was lower than Misha could ever remember it.  Even during Gerald’s wars they had been bolstered by Jared’s ebullient spirit and by the knowledge that they would come out victorious under his orders.  Not one of them would believe any less of their chances under the Fiery Queen, but she was withdrawn from them since the birth of her son and she had rarely come out amongst them.  The high point in the last month had been when she had walked among the men, her child in her arms until Orator Beaver swooped in and introduced the young prince to the knights that would protect him.  Misha was, to be honest, in awe of the Orator, and grateful that they had such a man on their side.

To his surprise, a figure stopped next to him and he looked up to find the Queen Consort beside him.  “Your Majesty,” he bowed to her.

“Enough of that, Collins,” she said with a small smile.  Her arms were wrapped around her son again. 

“It is good to see you out of your rooms, Your Majesty, you and the prince.”

She let out a deep sigh and held the boy tighter.  “Since the High King made himself known, I can barely stand to have him out of my arms,” she said softly.  Misha was one of the few people she had confided in and he was grateful to be included among them.  “At least I have a piece of my husbands with me here.”

“He will grow into a strong lad, to be sure.”

She nodded absently as she looked out.  “How long can our men stand behind these walls?”

“So long as there is a Kandili left alive, someone will man these walls,” he assured her.

“I don’t mean to question their strength, Misha,” she said softly.  “These are Jared’s men and for love of him they will follow me to their deaths.  I am not my husband though.  I am just a stableman’s daughter.”

Misha was surprised as her candor but it was another moment where he was grateful he had stayed with her and not returned to the others.  The Queen was strong and fierce and no one doubted her courage, except perhaps her.  He was grateful to be the one to remind her of just who she was.

“The men would follow King Jared to the end of the world and back because he would go to those lengths for any one of us and he has proven it time and time again in battle.  They would follow the Prince Consort because they see he is caring and just and they know he would never let them down.”

He turned to look at her and waited until she did the same to continue.  “But they would follow the Fiery Queen to death itself for love of her wild spirit and her lightning temper.  If she were to lead a fight, these men would give their very souls to see her standing victorious on the other side.”

Her eyes teared up and she dipped her head down for a moment.  He saw the way her body shivered and when she looked up again, her head was held high and there was a light in her eyes that had been missing of late.

“I have spent too long listening to what other people would do, for fear that I would not do what Jared or Jensen would want of me.  I had almost forgotten that they loved me for who I was.  I am not timid and I have never been one to hide behind walls.”

She started to walk away and Misha couldn’t help himself.  “Where will you go , My Queen?”

Danneel smiled as she turned to look at him.  “There is bound to be a blacksmith up somewhere in the castle.  It is time for the Queen to get her armor.  Battle comes soon and we will be ready to meet it.  Warn the men, Scout.  The Queen is ready to get bloodied.”

Misha dropped to one knee, head bowed before the Queen that he loved as fiercely as he loved his King.  “On the Fiery Queen’s command, we shall be ready.”

 

**  
  


It wasn’t a day for war, she thought as she walked along the wall.  The sun was shining brightly on the fields around the Kandilihar castle and the breeze that came across from the mountains was mild and pleasant. It didn’t stop what she had to do though.  She heard a roar go up as she walked the walls and she turned her attention to the men inside the castle gates.  They had been waiting for the order to open the gates so that they could be released upon the enemy that dared to sit before their gates.  They had been waiting too long, and Danneel waved down to the men who understood her coming was a promise. 

She walked to the front of the castle and couldn’t help but take a deep breath and smile as she looked at the army before them.  She was no soldier, but she was Fiery Queen and she could not back down from a bully, no matter how many men he had.

“Your Majesty?”  Orators Beaver and Morgan were at her side as soon as she stopped.  They were constantly bickering with one another these days, the good humor that had once been between them seemed to have been buried under the stress of the times.  Danneel could see the surprise in Jim’s eyes, but she didn’t blame him.  Last night he had gone to bed and his Queen was still hiding behind her walls.  This morning, he woke to the Fiery Queen upon the battlements in red armor and fight to win. 

“It is a good morning, gentlemen.  The men’s morale seems to have been miraculously lifted this morning.”

“Should you be out like this, Your Majesty?” Orator Morgan asked.

Danneel looked at him and understood what drove the man.  He didn’t think she was weak but he was truly concerned for her health.  He was no healer though and even they had been telling her to get out of her rooms and stretch her legs for some time now. 

“I have two perfectly good legs, Orator,” she said with a smile.  “They are quite capable of seeing me to the castle gates, or to keep me atop a horse should I need to ride.”

His smile darkened and she turned away, looking to Jim.  “The men are ready to fight, are they not?” she asked.  He nodded and she let out a deep breath.  “Where will you be, Orator?”

Jim seemed to understand what she was asking.  His eyes glinted for a moment with concern but there was a fierce fighting spirit underneath the Orator’s refined robes.  “I will be on the battlefield, for my Queen,” he said as he went to one knee.

Orator Morgan watched with his mouth agape before he seemed to shake himself out of it.  “Will you command the gates to open this morning?” he asked.

“I will.  We have allies that come.  I hope to show them a bloodied enemy before they reach our gates.”

“Is that the wisest course of action, Your Highness?” Morgan asked.  “We can stay behind these walls-“

“I am not looking for council this morning, Orator.  I am the Queen of Kandilihar and I have made me decision.  We will open the gates when the sun rests high above us.  Let the enemy see the way the sun shines off the metal of our shields and fear the sound of thundering hooves.”

“It appears we are both in need of a change then,” Morgan said, looking at Orator Beaver.  “I was not always an Orator myself.  If the Fiery Queen will go into battle, I will follow her.  King Jared fought to return the Pelagian throne to the rightful hands and I will do no less to be certain that Kandilihar stays the same.”

Danneel reached a hand out to each orator and Jim took it without hesitation.  Orator Morgan was only a moment behind him.  “You are both brave men and your wisdom has been a boon to me in these dark times.  No matter the outcome of this fight, I will always be thankful of your friendship.”

“Your Majesty,” Morgan bowed low before turning to head back into the castle.  Jim took her hand and kissed the back of it lightly as he looked up and winked at her.  “It is good to see the girl I once knew.  I thought for a moment we had lost her in the guise of a Queen.”

“For a minute, you did, but other voices have reminded me of who I am.  Hopefully my husbands will be as pleased.”

Jim snorted.  “If they aren’t, send them to me, My Queen.  I’ll make sure to set them straight.”

Danneel laughed as Jim walked back into the castle to find his armor.  She had no doubt it was already shined and ready for use.  Once a soldier, always a soldier. 

When Collins showed up on the wall next to her, he smiled as he looked her over.  She might think the look too familiar for one of the men, but he was looking at the red armor she wore; mostly chain mail that had been in the works for a younger man but it fit her fine.  The shoulders were metal plate, as was the forearms and the blacksmiths had been working non-stop to give her what she had asked for in time.  Collins’ appreciation had nothing to do with her physical form and everything to do with the reason she appeared on the wall in armor. 

“Then men are ready to fight for your, My Queen.”

She let out a deep breath as she looked out across the plains.  “Let us hope that not too many die for me today, Collins.”

**

The last leg of their journey was over quicker than Jared had imagined it would be.  Somehow he had thought it would feel longer, coming to do battle before his own castle.  The ground gave way before their army though, perhaps faster because it was their own land they traveled over.  Not only was the land familiar, but it was their homes they went to fight for now and Jared couldn’t help but keep moving forward as fast as they could.

They were in the last stretch of their journey now though and Jared kept them moving at a slower pace.  They needed to come into the fight with as much strength as possible and the Torugan that moved with them needed time to recuperate.  Jared refused to slow down because of them so they had taken to horseback or were riding behind a rider.  They were now recovering from the ride and Jared noticed the way Lehne and Ruden watched the men, their approving gaze communicating back and forth with one another.

When they reached the edge of the valley, Jared called the men to a halt.  He called Lehne and Ruden to him as Pelegrino and Cohen rode up.  Benedict stayed back with the others but he had done his duty already.  He knew what he was up against today.  He had no idea why the Kandili ground was not yet filled with Torugan and Ruvien blood, but for whatever reason Danneel had kept the horsemen inside, he had to believe they were ready for the fight. 

“Your men seem ready to fight, Lehne.”

Ruden had stopped pretending to be in charge once Jensen had seen past the ruse but Lehne still deferred to the man at times.  Jared thought of Jim, wondering if the Orator was biting at the chomp to get onto a horse again. 

“A few miles under their feet and the effects of your horses have been undone.  We can walk steady again,” Lehne said with a grin.  There was a strip of green fabric tied to the Torugan’s arm to show his support of Kandilihar.  It was the best they could do to help Jared’s men to see the difference between enemy and friend.  Jared smiled down at Lehne; the adrenaline of the day had him puffed up and feeling invincible.    

He thought of Jensen, his husband, the High King.  Jared had known from the moment he first saw Jensen that there was something special in him.  It had taken less than a day to know he would love the man for the rest of his life.  Now, the rest of the world would have to admit to how amazing he was.  Jared couldn’t wait until the day they could be together and celebrate the news.  There would be hard decisions to make then – Jared wasn’t sure how he was supposed to have a ruling Triune that included the High King – but they would deal with it as they had everything else; together.  Until then, Jared looked forward to finding his husband and his wife, to seeing his child for the first time, and reuniting with his family.

“Good.  My horses are ready to go, and unless I am mistaken, there is a battle to be won.”

He was about to say more when he heard the sound of the Kandilihar battle horns.  He looked to Cohen but he could see the other Kandili soldiers stiffening around them.  He looked to Ruden and Lehne then.  “The gates open,” he said, turning his horse towards the valley path.  “It is time to join the fight.”

Ruden ran off to join the Torugan and Lehne nodded.  “I will see you at the end of this battle, King Jared,” he said with a firm nod.  “We will see Megan and Stuart removed from power and their evil undone on this world.”

He ran back to the other then and Jared turned back to the horsemen.  “Kandilihar needs you now!  Ride!” 

He needed no elaborate speech to move his men.  This was their home and there was a foreign army trespassing upon it.  They would fight to the death for their King, and now they were fighting for their homes.

Jared rode at the front of his men, as he had since his days under his father’s banner.  They were his men now and this was his fight.  As the pathway opened up around them, Jared could see the gates of his castle open and the great knights of Kandilihar spread onto the field in fierce formation.  He could not have been prouder of his men and he rushed ahead, his men with him as he leapt into the charge.

** 

“What is that noise?”

Jensen turned and looked at Prince Lesaren beside him.  Jensen had barely heard his words over the noise above them.  Kane rode up beside Jensen, his eyes going to the ceiling of the cavern system they traveled.    

“Your Majesty, we should hurry.  If I’m not mistaken, that is the Kandilihar cavalry.”

Jensen let out a shuddered breath at the thought of the cavalry.  Until now it had just been the idea of what Megan could do.  Now, he would be witness to the destructive nature of her ambition.  He didn’t doubt Kane’s words though.  The thunder of the hooves gave Jensen the urgency he needed to push the people on faster.

He looked at Lesaren and the Ruvien Prince nodded.  “It’s time to ride,” Jensen said softly.  “Are you still determined to ride to Kandilihar’s aid?”

Jensen knew Lesaren wouldn’t turn aside, but Jensen wanted to give him a last chance to move to the back of the men so that he could watch from behind.  The man wasn’t a soldier.  Lesaren smiled slightly though.  “I would have sent men to King Jared’s aid, but I will follow the High King to battle when he calls.”

Jensen felt his back stiffen slightly and he nodded.  “Then we ride.”

He looked back at the men, Kane and Murray moving up in front of Jensen and Abel just behind him, to the Ruvien Legion who rode behind them.  “For Kandilihar, we ride!”

Kane took up the call, “For Kandilihar and for the High King!”  The cavern echoed with their calls and the rumble of hooves as they rode for the cavern entrance that would take them out on the northeast field.

**

They arrived on the field and there was little distance between them and the enemy.  They had their back to Jensen and his army and they crashed into the battle with no fanfare.  It was a difficult fight, Ruvien mercenary fought Ruvien Legion and the Torugan armies were fighting one another.  Jensen saw a Kandilihar banner flying in the middle of the melee and he tried to aim towards it, hoping to find his husband and keep him safe.

Kane and Murray stayed with him as Abel moved around them.  The scout didn’t fight like the knights did, but moved in and out of fights around them, adding sting to the fight and crippling their enemies who didn’t even see him coming.  When Jensen was young, he had thought that sort of fighting was unfair and dishonorable, but Murray had long helped him see that there was no such thing as a fair fight once it started.

A sword came slashing at him and Jensen thrust back with his own, blocking it.  He pivoted slightly and his horse turned, knocking his opponent to the ground.  Before Jensen could react to it, a Torugan was there, ending the fight.

It was a battle unlike any he’d ever heard, with the Torugan moving around the horses, protecting and taking advantage of the divided focus of the other armies.  They fought through the middle of the battle and Jensen looked up in surprise as a familiar voice sounded out.  He pushed his horse forward to get to the two men he knew well.  “Morgan!” he screamed above the battle din.  His opponent nearly had him when Jensen ran him through.  The orator looked up at Jensen in surprise.

“Your Majesty, we have to get you to safety,” Morgan answered immediately.  Jensen would have laughed at the familiar words if he didn’t have to turn his blade in that moment to fight off a Torugan soldier.   

“Where is Jared?” Jensen asked as his last opponent was downed. 

“I saw his banner on the eastern edge of the field earlier, but I think the flag bearer might have fallen,” Orator Beaver came up behind him to say.

“Orator, nice to see you on a horse again,” Kane said as he rounded on the gathering. 

It was the last they spoke as another wave of attackers came to them.  Kane and Murray stayed with him but Jensen was pulled away from the orators.  He found Lesaren at another point, surrounded by his Legion with Lehne and green-banded Torugans to defend him.

Abel came back in close, dodging a mercenary and Jensen kicked the man in the face, sending him reeling as Abel him across the gut.  He went down and didn’t come up again and they continued on, Jensen trying to find his way back to his husband.

They were towards the back of the field when Jensen saw Kane falling from his horse out of the corner of his eye.  He heard the knight’s curse and watched as Carlson rose form the ground where he’d thrown himself at Kane.  There were too many men between them for him to get to Kane but he tried to get closer. 

Murray was at Jensen’s side still though and he seemed to see what had happened also because he was suddenly angling Jensen towards Kane and moving to keep Jensen safe from the other side.  The fighting between Kane and Carlson was fierce though bother men were silent in their attacks.  A stray fighter happened into their combat and while Kane killed him quickly, the man had managed to stick a blade in Kane’s arm before he’d been dispatched. 

Carlson was taking advantage of it and Jensen screamed out his frustration as he tried to get to the other knight.  Kane was the better fighter but Carlson was steadily attacking so that it put more and more stress on Kane’s arm.  He couldn’t refuse to use his arm and he was having to rely on it almost completely.

The Torugan in front of Jensen fell under his horses’s hooves when he finally had a chance to get to Kane’s side.  “Carlson!” Jensen yelled out.

Carlson looked up at Jensen and there was a moment when Carlson looked at him and knew what Jensen had become.  The knight backed up and before Jensen or Kane could stop him, he ran away from them and into the fighting. 

“Alright?” Jensen asked Kane.

“Always,” Kane answered, hefting his sword.  Carlson’s horse was still in the circle with them and Kane mounted it when his own had run off.  “Damn horse likes a fight more than I do,” he said of his own and Jensen couldn’t help but laugh.

“To the gates!” Jensen yelled to the knight and Kane just smiled.  “To the gates!  Kandilihar to the High King!”

They rode hard and fought hard and Murray joined them with Abel close behind.  As they rode, men picked up Kane’s call and so the news of the High King spread even among the battlefield.

**

The enemies around Jared were all down, bloodied or dead, and the field was full of the groans of the wounded and the joyous shouts of the victors.  He knew the sound; the battle was over and he couldn’t help but feel relief that he had lived through another.  His people would be safe now and the Kandili Triune had proven that they could face whatever obstacles came into their path.  The thought was followed closely by Jared’s eye scanning the field for his husband and their allies. 

The first of his allies that he saw surprised him.  Standing not far from Jared was Prince Lesaren of Ruvien.  The man had said he would send men to Kandilihar but there had not been enough time for his men to arrive from their home kingdom and Jared would never have expected the Prince to come himself. 

“Jared!”  He barely had time to recognize the voice before he was engulfed in strong arms.  He held on tight for a moment before he pulled back, looking at the man who had been his best friend and protector.

“Christian,” he said with a small smile, “brother.” 

Kane looked over Jared’s shoulder and gave a small nod.  Jared turned to see Lehne there. 

“We’ve got a mess to clean up,” Kane said softly as he looked around the field.

“Jensen?” Jared asked before the others could say anything.

“The High King is well.  He is on the field with Murray.”

  Jared wanted to find his husband but Lehne stepped closer.  “Stuart is dead, and with him the Torugan who fought have given their loyalty to me,” he said. 

Jared let out a sigh of relief.  “Then there will be peace between Toruga and Kandilihar.”

“At last,” Lehne said with a small nod.  “To repay their debt to the Kandilihar people, they will work to clear the battleground of the dead, if you deem it fitting.”  Jared nodded but before he could speak another figure came into his sight. 

“Danneel?”  He ran, knowing Kane was only a step behind him.  Blood soaked the cloak around her and was splattered on the armor she wore.  He didn’t know how to address the fact that she was in armor or on the field at all, but she looked up as he approached and threw herself into his arms.

“Are you alright?” He asked into her hair.

“I’m fine.  We came out to collect the wounded as we could.  It is not my own blood.  What of you husband?”

He smiled.  “Better now that I can see you again, Wife.”

“Jensen?” she asked.

“The High King is waiting in a tent to the rear of the battlefield,” Ruden said as he crossed the distance to join them.  “He asked for your company when you are able to join him.”

Jared wanted to run to find his husband but he found the strength to keep his pace even.  Dannel spared a moment to embrace her brother but even as she was trying to tend to an injury on his arm they were walking quickly to find Jensen.  Everywhere Jared looked, healers moved among the wounded or Torugan without green moved bodies under the direction of green banded Torugans. 

Kane didn’t bother waiting, but after being reassured that his sister was well, he ran ahead.  Jared wondered about the change in the knight and he felt jealous that the knight could dash across the field to get back to Jensen when Jared felt the need to go at a more kingly pace. 

As much as he wanted to get to Jensen, he had Danneel at his side though and he couldn’t help but wrap an arm around her and pull her close.  “You look well my Queen,” he said softly.  “I would not have looked to find you in armor when I returned.  When we left I had hoped to be home in time to see my child born into this world.”

Danneel smiled up at him and he could see the joy in her face as well as the impatience to be with her husband.  “Your son was so eager to enter the world he didn’t put up a fight, which was good since I had other fights to turn to.”  She looked down as they walked before continuing.  “I hope you will find I have ruled well in your stead.  The choices I faced were not easy and I had lost your council.”

Jared pulled her to a stop and brought dirty, blood crusted hands to her face.  He kissed her softly, not out of passion but out of compassion and reassurance.  “Our walls stand and our people are safe.  There is no better judge of your actions than those results.”

She leaned into him, uncaring of the mess that covered him.  He held her close a moment, before he kissed her temple and let her go.  “Let us go meet this High King.  The sooner we see to him, the sooner we can see our husband and you can introduce me to my son.”

They began walking again and Ruden, Lehne, and Lesaren who had joined the other two while they waited, moved with them.  The field was long and Jared wished, for a moment, that he still had his horse with him.  That was another problem he would have to see to before the night was over. 

When they reached a tent at the back of the field, Jared found a fire burning before it, a Torugan flag in flames next to his sister’s crest.  He closed his eyes to the thought of what would come next.  Megan would be sentenced by the Kandilihar king; for her crimes against the Pelagian royal family, the riff she had created between the Kandili and Torugan kingdoms, and the attack on Kandilihar itself, he had no choice but to sentence her to death.

Abel was standing outside the tent as they arrived but he ducked inside for a moment.  He wasn’t back out when the tent flap opened up and Jensen was striding out to meet them.   He wore armor with a deep green cape that flowed behind him as Jensen reached for them.  Danneel kissed him with a soft sob and Jared just held them both close, his temple to Jensen’s.  He was fighting tears but Danneel did no such thing and he could feel the soft shudders of her body against his chest. 

“We finally made it home,” Jensen said softly to her.

Jared pulled back just enough to look down at his husband.  Jensen looked up at him and he got a small, crooked smile before Jensen’s hand found his neck and pulled him close.  Their lips met in a fierce but short kiss.  Jared wanted to spend days with his husband and wife to show them just how much he had missed them but this wasn’t the time for that just yet. 

When Jensen stepped back, his smile said he understood.  The way Danneel wrapped her arm around Jared’s body as they followed Jensen back into the tent said she did as well.

The tent was large and Jensen moved to a chair at the back, Murray and Kane each standing on one side of the throne.  Jared understood then why Kane had left him on the battlefield.  He was protecting the High King as Jared had asked all his knights to do years before when he began trying to find a way to end his father’s warmongering.

Jared couldn’t help but smile at the thought of it.  When Jensen took a seat, Jared moved forward and bent his knee to the High King.  “Your Majesty,” Jared said proudly.

Jensen looked exasperated but then Danneel curtsied so deep she was nearly on the floor and the other men who had come with them knelt as well, Jensen let out a deep breath.  Murray looked smug but Kane watched the new king with concern.

“I have already been shown your allegiance today,” Jensen said softly.  “I do not need a show of fealty.”

Lesaren and the Tougans stood, as did Danneel.  Jared stayed a moment longer before he smiled up at his husband.  “Some of us have been waiting a long time to be able to bow to the High King.”

Jensen smiled at him then.  “I’m well aware of your beliefs King Jared,” he said, using a formality that he hadn’t since the first morning they’d met.  Jared understood though.  There was business to attend to and he wanted through it as quickly as possible.

“Kane, bring the prisoners.”

Kane moved out of the tent and Jensen addressed the rulers that were there.  “The only kingdoms not represented here today are Lastoran and Donara.  Both have already pledged their loyalty to the High King.  The Torugan men that fought for King Stuart have been killed or they have changed their allegiance to their new king.  King Lehne has the men who followed him from Toruga watching over their brethren.  They are doing labor to give recompense for their crimes.”

Lehne stood forward but he looked to Jared.  “You know that my people are faithful.  The extent of Stuart’s deception was not known and I ask that those men who changed their allegiance be allowed to make restitution for their dishonor by restoring the Kandili fields and in strengthening the Pelagian army until such a time as King Stuart’s damage is undone and the relationship between Pelagia, Kandilihar, and Toruga is sound once more.”

Jared knew what Lehne wasn’t saying.  The men who had refused to change allegiance would have been killed already.  There was no lenience in the Torugan people and Lehne would have seen to it that his people would remain faithful to him and his word.

“I trust your judgment about your people, King Lehne,” Jared said as he looked up to Jensen.  “If Pelagia wishes no more recompense for the incursion then I am happy to take King Lehne’s gesture as payment in full of the former king’s debt to my people.”

Jensen nodded.  “I will speak for my brother, as I know his heart well.  Pelagia does not blame the Torugan people for the murder of the royal family.  That act was committed by Princess Megan of Donara and her allies.  The Torugan people were misled and have proven since then to be a people of great honor.  King Joshua readily accepts your offer of support and he looks forward to a time when you will be able to come to Pelagia in peace.”

Lehne bowed his head and stepped back as Kane came back into the room.  Behind him were a group of Torugan warriors that Jared recognized.  Between then they brought his sister and Carlson forward.  Jared could see Kane tense out of his side vision but he wasn’t able to take his eyes off his sister.  She looked regal with her head held high, even surrounded by foreign enemies.  The brother in him wanted to rush to her and protect her but he let out a shuddered breath to try to ignore the impulse.  He had said it once and he meant it now again; she was Gerald’s daughter but she was no longer a sister to him.

Megan was brought to stand before them and she sneered when she looked at Jared.  “So, brother, will you have my head on a pike?  Will you show it to all who come to Kandilihar to let them know that this is how you deal with family?”

“Silence.”

The disdain she held for Jared turned to rage at Jensen’s word.  She opened her mouth to speak again but Jensen continued.  “Your crimes were not against Kandilihar alone and while King Jared will have his say before all is done, your crimes were against the entire realm.  You will be judged by the High King.”

Carlson’s eyes were closed and Jared wanted to ask the man why he’d betrayed them all and if it was worth it, but Lehne spoke before he could.

“Stuart died on the battlefield, but the kingdom of Torugan has a grievance against Princess Megan of Donara.”

“As does Pelagia,” Jensen said before Lehne could speak further.  “Her crimes were against us all.”

“You have no right to judge me,” Megan spat at Jensen.

“He is the High King,” Kane spoke, stepping between Megan and Jensen.  “You will remember your place, Princess.”

“Kandilihar will recognize the judgment of the High King,” Jared said before Megan could retort.  He didn’t want to hear what she had to say about Jensen’s position.  “But I would like to hear how Knight Carlson became a part of this, and what crimes he has committed.”

  Megan laughed.  “Do you want to know how I corrupted your friend, Jared?” She turned to look at him and Jared took a step forward.  As much as he wanted to ignore what she might say, she was still his sister and he couldn’t help but wonder how this person had come to hate him so much.

“Enough Megan,” Carlson said, putting a hand on her wrist to stop her.  Jared was surprised at the level of familiarity between the two of them and of how Megan moved closer to him.

“Carlson, you were a friend to your king and a faithful knight.  What crimes have you committed for the Princess of Donara?” the High King asked. 

Carlson didn’t look at them, but turned Megan to face him.  “I will take whatever punishment you give her.  I followed her to war.  I will follow her to death if I must.”

Jared understood then why Carlson had done the things he had, but he was shocked to see Megan bury her head in the knight’s chest. 

“You were allowed to marry where you would Jared,” Carlson said softly.  He had Megan in his arms but he was staring over her head to look at Jared.  “Megan had hopes of that once too but your father sent her off to Donara.  We would have been happy, living under your rule, but we never had that choice.”

He wanted to protest but there was nothing he could say.  Megan had never said anything about a relationship with anyone, let along being in love with a knight.  He knew his father would never have agreed to Megan’s marriage to a knight.  Jared had been given a choice because he was to be king and Gerald knew Jared was stubborn enough to wait until he was king himself to marry if he had to.  Gerald had wanted to be certain Jared was well established before he’d passed on though.  He’d given in to his relationship with Danneel. Jared had no doubt that his father would never have agreed to a foreigner on the throne though and if he’d lived, he would have done everything he could do to stop Jared from marrying Jensen.  Jared had little care for his father’s approval but Megan had always been more moved by it.  He could see it in her now.  Gerald had taken three kingdoms in his quest to make the world in his image.  Megan was making the world into her own kingdom so that she could do as she pleased.

“What would you have done to Stuart?” Jared asked.  Megan looked away from Carlson and Jared knew he understood his sister well then.  “You planned to take this throne as well.  You would have killed him once this was done.” 

She nodded.  “I could not take Pelagia with Donaran men.  They don’t have the stomach for it.  The Kandili have always been yours.  Stuart was easy to manipulate though.  He wanted power and he was more than happy to believe I planned to share it with him.”

“Megan of Donara,” Jensen cut into the conversation again. 

Jared felt Danneel’s fingers curl into his hand and he took comfort from her presence at his side.  Danneel and Megan had never gotten along well but Danneel knew how much Jared loved his sister. 

“Your actions against the Six Lakes Realms have been unforgivable.  You have killed those that have not hurt you nor wished you ill so that you could gain power.  I cannot sentence you to death.  No matter the evil that you have done to me and my family, you are still my husband’s sister and for that I will give you leniency.  For your crimes against the Realm, my judgment is thus; you and your knight will spend the rest of your lives in a Torugan prison.  You will be fairly treated there and you will live a long life, but you will never be free to harm another ever again.”

Jared closed his eyes and bowed his head at the judgment.  He would never see Megan again but she would live.  Carlson would be with her and Jared would never have to worry about the knight leaving her side.  He knew from the look of love in his eyes that he would never leave Megan.  By placing them with the Torugan, Jensen was making certain that they never escaped and he was giving Lehne a show of trust for the other rulers to see. 

Jared looked up to see Lehne nod at Jensen’s words.  He wondered if Jensen had already spoken with the Torugan or if he just understood them well enough to know that Lehne would accept. 

“I will not be kept locked away!” Megan screamed.  The guards were already moving her out of the tent though.  Carlson just followed her, his eyes downcast as he left the tent.  Jared wanted to say something to him but he had no idea what he would say.  There would be time before the Torugan soldiers left and Jared decided to try to find the words at a later time. 

When he looked away from the guards, he found Jensen watching him. 

“Thank you, Your Majesty.  I would not have asked for mercy, though I am grateful for it.”

Jensen nodded.  “I believe we are concluded here for the time being.  There is much to do before nightfall and I’m sure I’m not the only one that would like a good night’s sleep tonight.”

They all agreed and a moment later, Jared was left alone with his wife and husband; Kane, Murray, and Abel outside the tent to keep guard. 

“Jared, I’m so sorry,” Jensen said quietly.

Jared knew what Jensen was talking about and he reached for his husband, pulling him into his arms.  “You were far more lenient than I would have been,” Jared whispered into his skin.  Jensen held him close and Jared took the chance to just breathe him in. 

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Jared felt Danneel’s hand against his back.  “Husbands, let us get you back to the castle.  You both look well but I doubt you are without injury and I have waited as long as I will to make sure you are both safe.”

Jared pulled away reluctantly, but he understood why Danneel was worried.  He kissed Jensen softly before holding a hand out for his wife.  “Lead the way my love.  Let’s get this cleaned up so that we can have a proper reunion.”

 

**

No matter that Danneel had wanted to get them cleaned up fast, it was well into evening before they were able to leave the court.  Jared got himself cleaned up while Jensen was speaking as the High King and then Jensen took his turn, leaving the King and Queen Consort of Kandilihar to work out the issues of the kingdom without him for a few minutes. 

When Jensen came back to join them, he was in his own clothes, but a jeweled clasp help a cloak around his shoulders.   Kane walked at his side and a moment later Murray came behind them, scanning the room.  Abel was already there and Jared noticed the way they watched Jensen constantly. 

When Jensen saw him, he smiled and walked straight to him.  “Jared, I was beginning to think there was a conspiracy to keep the two of us apart.”

Jared laughed.  Since they’d made it to the castle it had been one trouble after another.  There was enough work to be done to clear up the castle and the fields but Kane had immediately started talking about taking men to the Garden of Stone and making it habitable.  Jensen had been against the idea, but Jared still wasn’t sure why.  They hadn’t had a moment alone to find out. 

“I would blame Danneel for trying to make us wait for her, but I think it had more to do with your new guards than anything else.”

Jensen rolled his eyes and Jared laughed.  “They appointed themselves to the Jade Guard as soon as I sat on the throne.  I don’t honestly know how you live like this.  Has Kane always been this bad?”

Jared brought a hand up to Jensen’s face and caressed it.  He hasn’t planned to touch him but he couldn’t help himself.  “He has his moments.  I’m afraid you’ll be seeing the worst of him as he tries to get used to you.”

“Don’t get any ideas.  I plan on handing him back.”

Jared let out a deep breath and looked over Jensen’s shoulder.  “It is well past time that we retired for the evening, Your Majesty.”

“Yes,” Jensen said with a mischievous grin.  “I do believe our wife has been making arrangements.”

“Should I be scared?”

Jensen leaned forward and kissed Jared, lingering on his lips as his fingers pressed into Jared’s side.  “I believe she was moving us out of the Wedding Suites.  Then there was the matter of someone we have still to meet.”

Jared closed his eyes and leaned in to let his forehead rest against Jensen’s.  “I can face a thousand men on a battle field, but I am terrified of this.  What am I supposed to do with a baby?”

Jensen laughed.  “I imagine Danneel will have a better idea than I.”

“True enough,” Jared turned to see Danneel smiling at them.  She looked beautiful.  She’d managed to get cleaned up some time ago, but Jared had yet to truly appreciate his wife’s company since his return.  He knew Jensen felt the same as he did. 

“Come, it’s time to show Jensen to our suite.”

Jared watched as Danneel took Jensen’s hand and let her lead him away.  He followed close behind, knowing that Murray, Kane, and Abel followed behind them. 

They were heading to his bedroom, not the wedding suites.  These were the rooms he and Danneel had lived in once they’d been married and Jared couldn’t help but be excited by that prospect.  When they reached the room, Danneel kissed them both gently.  “I will be right back.”  She left before Jared could say anything, but he thought he knew where Danneel was going.

Jared didn’t hesitate, but pushed the door open and pulled Jensen into the room behind him.   The door was barely closed before Jensen surged up into him, pressing their lips together.  They didn’t have time for what he wanted, he had an idea of why Danneel had left them alone after all, but Jared opened up to his husband.  Jensen’s tongue swept against Jared’s bottom lip before sliding between them.

Jared pulled Jensen closer, enjoying the feel of his husband against him.  Jensen’s fingers tangled in Jared’s hair and angled him down to the right angle.  Jensen moaned and Jared had to pull back to catch his breath. 

“Jensen,” he whispered.  “I missed you.”

Jensen pressed his lips to Jared’s collar, then rested his head there.  “The things I want to do to you right now.”

Jared let out a shaky breath.  “Danneel might already have plans for that.”

Jensen laughed.  “I imagine she does.  I might start without her though if she doesn’t come back soon.”

“Come on,” Jared said, pulling Jensen away from the door.  “I imagine Danneel already moved your things in here.  She’s been waiting a long time to have you in here.”

He led Jensen past the foyer and the rest of the suite until they were in the bedroom.  He wanted to strip his husband of his clothes and show him just how amazing things would be now that they were together again, but even with the desire that coursed through him, exhaustion began to take its toll.  He pulled Jensen up onto the bed instead, sitting up against the headboard with Jensen lying between his legs. 

Jensen settled against him, sighing.  “I missed my bed, but not near as much as I missed this,” he confessed. 

“Enjoy the quiet while you can,” Danneel said as she slipped into the room.  “He’ll only stay asleep for so long.”

Jensen sat up quickly to move to Jared’s side as Danneel came closer, pulling the blanket away from the top of the bundle in her arms.  She settled on the bed beside Jared and he let out a deep breath.  He’d faced armies and felt less scared than this.  When Danneel put their sleeping son into his arms, he couldn’t help but smile as his son yawned up at him. 

“What is his name?’ Jared asked.

“I haven’t named him.  I was waiting for you to come home.  You do need a name though, don’t you sweetling?” Danneel asked as she leaned closer to him. 

Jensen leaned closer on his other side.  “You make pretty babies,” Jensen said, pressing a kiss to the boy’s head.

Jared watched Jensen for a moment and he knew what he needed to do.  “Alan,” he said softly.  “We should name him Alan.”

Jensen stilled but Danneel stroked her fingers over the baby’s face lightly.  “Alan is a good name.  A strong name for a boy who will someday be a king.”

Jensen’s eyes were watering and he gave a shaky smile, letting Jared know he’d made the right decision.  “Alan, meet your other daddy.”

Jared moved his boy slightly so that Jensen could see him better.  Danneel settled on the bed at his side and Jared couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her.  He was between his husband and wife holding his son.  Jared had spent half of his life believing in the old ways and hoping to someday see the High King returned to his throne and now his husband was the man to claim the crown.  He felt like his heart was about to burst.

Jensen took Alan from his arms and Jared took the chance to pull Danneel in close.  He kissed her gently as Jensen murmured softly to their son.  It was the most remarkable night of his life and Jared had never felt more loved, or more cared for then he did just then. 

He didn’t know when he’d started to fall asleep but there were whispered words and quiet laughter as he was pulled down onto the bed properly.  His wife and husband lay beside him and Jared let his exhaustion pull him under so he could wake to see their smiling faces again in the morning.

**

The High King - and still Prince Consort if he could get people to remember to stop bowing to him - stood looking out over the walls of the castle.  He knew he should be returning back to his rooms but even with the late evening settling around him, he couldn’t help but stare at the great pavilions and tents set up outside the castle walls.  The Faire had been cancelled the year before when Megan’s armies had come.  While he knew the magnitude of the Great Faire, he’d never actually seen it.  He could hear the music and laughter even from the high castle walls and it filled him with joy.  These were his people, all of them.  The crown he wore was so much different from what he’d ever expected, growing up with a Prince’s crown and never expecting more until he’d become a part of the Triune and received that crown as well.  Jensen had never wanted to be a king and it was that fact that Jared said made him the perfect High King. 

Warm arms wrapped around him and Jensen could feel the smile against his skin, as if thinking his name had conjured him.  “Don’t you have guests to see to?” Jensen asked as he leaned to one side, letting his husband’s lips brush across his skin.

“I told them all it was time to seek my bed.  The Queen Consort will be up early for the Faire and she waits on no man.  Or king.  Or husband.  It will be an early morning and I need my beauty sleep.”

Jensen laughed, turning around in his husband’s arms.  “It’s a good thing that isn’t true because unless I misread your Queen, she has no intention of letting you sleep soon.”

“Then it will be a late night for us all, Your Majesty,” Jared said with a grin.

Jensen smacked him on the arm.  “Stop.”

“You don’t like it when I call you by your title?  It’s hard to stop after listening to it all day long,” Jared teased.

Jensen groaned, leaning forward to rest his head on his husband’s shoulder.  “I wouldn’t give up my position for a simpler life, but every time a new dignitary comes to visit the High King it throws me right back to the beginning with the Kandili Orators.  Even Jim was calling me by my title tonight.” 

“Then let me try another one,” Jared said softly, tipping Jensen’s head up.  “Come to bed, husband.”

Jensen leaned up, pressing his lips to Jared’s for a sweet kiss.  “Lead the way, husband.”

Jensen let himself be lead back through the castle that was now his home.  The High King had no kingdom of his own to rule and it was only guidance and advice that he offered the other sovereigns so Jensen felt no need to try to move away from his Kandili home.  They had plans to celebrate the Shepard’s Moon at the Garden of Stones once the construction of the rooms and the outer village were complete, but Jensen lived in Kandilihar and it was far easier for people to join him there than to travel the Divergence.  It had been a hard year, with everyone coming to terms with the High King and the reunion of the Six Lakes Realm leaders and the celebration would be another way to renew their alliances.  They had all accepted him immediately, but not many had welcomed what they felt were his intrusions in the beginning.  He had a better way of announcing his need to them now though, a way of giving them warning before he called them into his mind and that seemed to have led to better negotiations.  News was spread quicker among them now and need was easily dispelled where it could be because of Jensen’s interactions with the other rulers and they were all seeing the benefits of his council. 

Jensen still sat as a ruling member of the Triune but his place as High King was a separate duty he attended to.  Jensen had a secretary who took care of people coming to see the High King.  He only saw a few petitioners a day but Jared had set aside his own audience room for when he needed to wear the Jade Crown.  Unfortunately, the Great Faire had brought an unusually high number of people to visit him and he’d had to spend the whole day in what Jared affectionately called the ‘Kandili Jade Hall’.  Jensen was mostly happy though, his wife and husband at his side with Jared’s son, healthy, and growing up with their love.  His brother was only a thought away, now that Jensen had the Jade Crown and he was able to remain an active part of the Pelagian court in some small manner. 

It was a different life than Jensen would ever have dreamed for himself, but one that left him happy and hopeful for an even brighter future for them all.

“You’re late,” Danneel chided as Jensen closed the door behind him. 

“Your husband was up on the wall again,” Jared said.  To Jensen’s surprise, his husband had worked quickly and was already half naked as he moved to join their wife in their shared bed.    

“We’ll have to think of some way to keep him from thinking too much on the fair,” Danneel said softly.  “We can’t have his dreams filled with dignitaries and exotic creatures when we are right here.”

Jared took that exact moment to slide his pants down his hips to pile around his feet.  Jensen stood where he was, back pressed to the door, as he watched Jared move over Danneel, his lips meeting hers in a passionate kiss.

In all his life, Jensen had never seen two people so in love, so passionate about the other.  He watched as Jared’s arm snaked under Danneel’s body as he pulled her down the mattress.  When he had her laid out, he pulled the sheet off, revealing her beautiful body.  She wore marks of labor on her stomach, small pinkish ribbons that reminded them of the child she’d carried for them.  Reminders of future children she would conceive and bear for them.

“You are truly beautiful,” Jensen said softly.

Jared ran a hand down Danneel’s face and kissed her gently.  “Yes, she is.”

Jensen meant the two of them but he didn’t bother to correct his husband, especially not as Jared began to kiss Danneel’s graceful neck.  She arched up into his body and Jared moved further down, his fingers playing across her nipples before he leaned in, sucking one into his mouth.  She moaned at the feeling of it and Jared moaned with her as she wrapped her feet around his calves and pulled his body closer to her. 

“Dani,” Jared whispered her name against her skin.

“Make me ready, Love,” she said, digging her fingers into his hair.  She guided him down and he was lapping at her clit, his moans louder as he tasted her.  Jensen could tell from the way his wife clutched the bedsheets when Jared pressed his finger into her body.  Such talented fingers and Jensen nearly fell to his knees with the desire to move closer, to pull Jared’s fingers from her body and lick them clean until he had the taste of both lover’s on his tongue. 

“Jensen, why are you still dressed?” Danneel demanded as Jared sat up on the bed, three fingers moving in and out of her body.  “If you don’t get over here soon, I swear I’ll let him have me.”

Jensen laughed as he pulled the tunic over his head.  “You think I would complain, Wife?” he asked.

Danneel let out a breathy moan as Jared pulled away from her, leaving her empty as he turned to look at Jensen.  “You would enjoy the show too much to complain,” Jared said as he moved off the bed to stand in front of Jensen.  His fingers undid the fastening of Jensen’s pants and he began working them off his body.  “However, I have plans tonight and they involve watching you make love to my wife as I fill your body.”

Jensen moaned because he would never turn down the offer that Jared made him.  “You are far too easy to give your wife away,” Jensen teased.

His pants were pooled around his feet as Jared pushed him back towards the bed.  “She seems particularly fond of being taken by you,” Jared answered as he stopped to kiss Jensen.  Jensen opened to his husband and as their tongues tangled, he felt Danneel’s hands on his back.  She kissed across his shoulders and down his spine before returning to the nape of his neck.  Jensen was nearly shaking with the intensity of their ministrations so when Jared pulled back and Danneel turned his body, he fell to the bed with her. 

Her lips covered his as he felt Jared kneel between his legs.  He opened to them both, Danneel’s tongue dancing with his as Jared’s lips traced a path along his inner thigh before licking across the head of his cock.  He moaned into Danneel’s mouth, unable to contain himself.  When Jared pressed a slick finger against his entrance, Jensen spread his legs wider for his husband in invitation. 

It didn’t take long before Jensen was ready to take his lover and Jared pulled him away from Danneel for a moment to kiss him before he pushed Jensen back to the bed with her.  When Jensen pushed his way into her body he felt her nails digging into his back, leaving marks that he knew would last a few mornings.  She liked to see him marked, perhaps as much as Jared did, and Jensen would complain about marking up the High King when he had to speak to other monarchs in the morning if he didn’t love it as much as his husband and wife did.

“Jared,” Jensen whispered as he settled deep inside Danneel’s body.  She pulled his lips to hers again and she swallowed his moans as his husband’s cock slowly sank into his body.  He was breathing hard already, always was when they took him like this, and Jensen rolled his hips to hear the matching moans of his lovers. 

Jared pulled slowly out of him and Jensen followed only to slam back into Danneel’s body as Jared filled him again. They knew this dance and they set a steady rhythm.  Jensen wouldn’t last long like this, but he felt Danneel ‘s body clutching around his as she came.  She milked his orgasm from him as she tightened around him and Jared hit his prostate over and over until he was coming inside his wife.  Jensen dropped his head down to rest against Danneel’s shoulder and Jared’s fingers bruised into his skin as he began slamming into Jensen’s body.  He was shivering with the aftershock and the stimulation until Jared stilled above him and he felt his lover’s hips roll as he filled Jensen full.

When Jared pulled away, Jensen moaned at the loss, his voice echoed by Danneel as he lay back on the bed.  Danneel curled up on his one side and Jared pressed kisses into Jensen’s neck.

“Love you, Husband,” Jared said softly.

“Love you Husbands,” Danneel echoed though she was nearly asleep already.

Jensen laughed softly at her soft words.  “Crazy Kandili.”  When he looked at Jared, his husband’s eyes were wide awake and Jensen moved slowly to dislodge Danneel so that he could roll into his lover’s arms.  Jared pulled him close, though as always, Danneel burrowed closer to Jensen in her sleep and Jared played with her hair as his other arm held Jensen close.  “Love you,” Jensen finally admitted as he settled against Jared’s chest.

“Sleep well tonight, love.  Tomorrow we have the Faire and Danneel will not rest until you’ve seen every stall.”

“It will be a good day then,” Jensen answered.

Jared let out a happy, contented smile that made Jensen melt a little more into him.  “Yes, the best of days.”

**

Danneel smiled at her husbands as she wiped her hands over her dress, making sure she hadn’t missed any crumbs.  The Great Faire of Kandilihar officially opened today and one of the Pelagian sellers had sent sweet rolls up to Jensen and Jared.  Apparently they had met during Jared and Jensen’s courtship and the woman wanted to send a gift.  It was well received and Danneel was still smiling over her husband’s reaction to it.  Jensen had taken the first bite and seemed to melt with it.  Jared, on the other hand, had dropped his to his plate and proceeded to lick the taste of Jensen’s from his lips.  If she wasn’t so sated from the night before she might be tempted to join them, but she had plans for the Faire and she refused to miss it this year. 

Alan was toddling around and too young to properly enjoy the Faire, but she had plans to take him that afternoon, once Jensen was able to escape his duties as the High King and could share the afternoon with her.

“I will see you both at the noon meal on the east pavilion.  The other dignitaries will be there as well, so make sure you are presentable.”

She winked because Joshua was still giving Jensen a hard time about showing himself to the Pelagian King in a slightly rumpled manner a month back.  Jensen continued to complain about his brother’s teasing but Jared looked entirely too smug about it all.

She got a series of kisses and quick embraces and three attempts to turn her from her destination before Jensen finally gave up.  Jared was laughing, telling their husband that she would return his affection again once the Faire was out and Danneel used the distraction to slip out the door.

She had a bag of coins at her belt and a new rapport with the Torugans that she hoped to test.  She heard Ruden was coming as well as Lehne and she hoped to find them among the stalls before the noon meal.  She had been in conversation with them for some time and hoped to set matters on this visit.  Lehne had a daughter that would soon be old enough to see the world and Danneel was trying to convince the Torugan King to foster her with them.  It would be a large step in mending the generations of bad blood between them and Danneel knew well enough that when Alan was old enough, she would trust his safety with Lehne and Ruden.  Jensen had begun speaking to the other rulers about it as well.  Fostering children with one another would help strengthen the ties that had become so harried over the years.  It was gaining popularity and if she could get Lehne’s daughter, Alena, then she was certain the others would follow.

She walked quickly, hoping to catch her brother before he left the stables.  His routine never altered and he always went to check on the horses first thing.  It was her father’s habit but even as a knight in training Christian had continued doing things as their father had said they should be done. 

She walked in, ready to convince her brother to head to the Torugan stalls first when soft voices caught her attention.  She slowed when she recognized her brother’s voice and the intention behind it.  She wondered how she could have missed his affection for someone, but she knew the tenderness in his voice and what it meant. 

She moved quietly to peek around the corner and was surprised to see him talking to Murray.  The Pelagian knight was the High King’s protector and Danneel had never doubted the man’s loyalty to her husband.  She had no idea what to think of the way Murray looked at her brother though.  She stood straight, ready to walk in but a hand caught her around the waist.  Jensen shook his head when she looked back at him and she realized then that her husband knew what was happening.

She looked back in time to see her brother leaning closer to Murray.  The knight was against the stable door and had nowhere to go, but instead of trying to move away, his hand came up to Christian’s neck and pulled him closer.  It was a chaste kiss but Danneel could see the familiarity in the way they moved together.  The kiss deepened and Jensen pulled Danneel away quietly. 

“They rarely get time for even that,” Jensen said softly.  “But I’m afraid I can’t quite walk away this morning to give them more.”  He kissed Danneel and took her hand.  “Where will you head first, Wife?” he asked rather loudly.

Danneel let him lead her in but her brother and Murray had distanced themselves already.  “Chad, we have an appointment if I am not mistaken?” Jensen asked.

The Pelagian knight nodded.  “The Lastoran King has prepared a tent for you on the edge of the Southern pavilion.”

Jensen sighed.  “Which probably means he’s trying to get me drinking again.  If you don’t see me at the noon meal, look for me there, passed out on whatever it is that Sebastian calls a suitable beverage for a king.”

Danneel laughed at the idea of it.  Relationships with Lastoran, Ruvien, and Donara had become much better when Jared released the Kandilihar occupation of their countries and returned the thrones where they rightfully belonged.  Sebastian had barely been crowned king before Gerald had taken Lastoran over.  He was having a very good time deciding what he liked best about being a king versus a prince.

Murray held Jensen’s horse as he mounted, then moved to his own horse.  Her brother held it steady for him and Danneel tried not to smirk.  She’d been trying to help him find someone for years and he’d gone to Pelagia and found someone all on his own. 

Jensen waved as he turned to leave and Danneel was left alone with her brother then.  Christian was staring at the stable doors and Danneel went to stand next to him.  She bumped his shoulder slightly and he turned to smile at her. 

“Must run in the family, the Pelagian thing,” Christian teased.

“You knew I saw?”

“Yep, and I bet you thought you could wait until the best time to bring it up. I knew I had to get it out of the way before you embarrassed me in front of Jared or Jensen.”

“Jensen knows.”

“What?”

“He seems to have known for a while.”

Christian shook his head and Danneel knew it was his way to cover his embarrassment.  He’d really thought they’d hidden it from Jensen.

“It doesn’t interfere with what we do.  I don’t want Jensen or Jared to think-”

Danneel stopped him by placing her fingers over his lips.  “I’ll just say it this once.  I love you and I just want you to be happy.  If he does, then that’s all that matters.  But if he doesn’t, you tell him the Fiery Queen is your sister and I will come for his head.”

Christian’s eye softened as he looked down at her and she pressed a kiss to his cheek.  “Jensen is happy for you and I’m sure Jared would be too.”  She took her fingers from his lips then and smiled.  “Now, come on.  Torugan stalls first.”

Christian took her hand and hsi smile was back again.  “Ready.”

“Set,” she said, giggling like a little girl. 

“Go!”  Christian yelled.  He gripped her hand as he ran out of the stable.  Danneel held her skirts up with one hand and ran behind her brother laughing.  Fiery Queen or not, she was a stable hand’s daughter and this was how she’d come to the Faire as a child, clutching her brother’s hand and giggling her way through the stalls.  It was how she did it still, remembering who she was and spending the first morning of the Faire with her big brother.

**   

The pavilion was bigger than ever this year, as was the Faire itself.  People seemed to be making up for missing the previous year.  Jared was sitting at a table, drinking Ruvien wine that King Lesaren had brought himself.  Jared was alone for the moment and he was enjoying the chance to watch the people that had come to join them today. 

A large dance floor was open in front of him and a lively dance had started when the sun began to go down.  Danneel was being spun around the floor by their husband and he could hear their laughter even when he couldn’t see them through the crowd.  

Lesaren and King Daren of Donara were talked animatedly in one corner.  At Daren’s side was Samantha, the head of the Donaran academy libraries.  Jensen knew her and he’d been thrilled to learn that after Daren’s divorce, he’d begun spending time with Samantha.  Lesaren seemed to be enjoying the conversation as Daren and Samantha continued to interrupt one another back and forth.

Not far from them, Captain Sheppard of the Pelagian Navy was drinking with King LaRoche.  They had become friends while Sheppard was docked at a Lastoran dock and they’d kept a correspondence since. 

Someone clapped him on the shoulder and Jared looked up at Joshua and Lehne joined him at the table.  “You Kandili do know how to throw a good party,” Joshua said, raising a wine glass in toast before sipping it.

Jared laughed.  “It is the first time in living history that the seven kings have been in one place.  It seemed fitting that we should make it an event to remember.”

“If it’s remembered,” Lehne said, pointing to the corner where LeRoche was drinking. 

Jared smiled at the comment but turned to look on the dance floor when he heard his husband’s laughter.  To his surprise, Jesina was on the dance floor close by with Ruden.

“Is that something Jensen should be worried about?” Jared asked as he pointed to the two.

“Ruden has asked to remain as a permanent part of the Pelagian guard,” Lehne answered.

“And he’s asked my permission to court Jesina,” Joshua added.  “When I told her that he had asked, and that I hadn’t given answer yet, she demanded I go out that instant and tell him that he had my permission.”  Joshua shook his head.  “As far as I can tell, they had very little contact when she was in the castle with Megan but he made quite the impression on her.”

“How is she taking this courtship?”

“About as well as my brother did yours,” Joshua replied with a smile.  “Half the time she seems surprised that he wants to be with her and the rest of the time she’s setting loops for him to jump through like a trained beast.”

“It is a good thing he is Torugan then.  They are strong of heart and it takes that sort of will to marry a Pelagian,” Jared said.

He didn’t say anything when Joshua began talking next, but gave his attention to the young boy who had just been brought in.  Alan was just over a year old but he already had the castle hopping as he wished.  Perhaps the two worst culprits were the men who carried him in.  Kane had his nephew in his arms and was laughing at the way Alan tried to grab Murray’s nose when he got too close.  Murray continued to play the game with him and occasionally let Alan get him just so they could start the game over again. 

Jensen wasn’t sure how that had happened, the two knights who had seemed incapable of finding devotion to something besides their kings, but when Danneel had told him about what she’d seen he didn’t find if surprising at all.  Jared could remember the determination in Murray’s voice when Jensen had first been kidnapped, his need to make sure both Jensen and Kane returned safely.  It could have started back then, but they had certainly had plenty of time when they traveled with Jensen to find something between them.  Knowing what Danneel saw, Jared could see it now.  Kane didn’t let many people under his guard but their shared purpose had always let Murray get closer than others.  Now, Jared figured Kane had let the other knight in a lot further than he had intended.  Jared couldn’t help but smile at that thought.  His brother-in-law deserved to be happy and Jared liked Murray. The man was dedicated to a fault and it was fitting that two men who were so wrapped up in protecting someone else would find love with one another.

“You are thinking too much, Your Majesty,” Jensen said as he sat at the table next to Jared.

“I am drinking, not thinking, Your Majesty,” Jared said with a grin just as Danneel sat in Jensen’s lap.  It was entirely uncivilized and exactly what the Faire always seemed to bring out in his wife.  Jared loved her like this and he could see that Jensen did as well.

“Please tell me you don’t go around calling each other majesty all the time,” Joshua teased.

Danneel laughed as she held her hand out to their brother-in-law.  “Your Majesty, I believe you still owe me a dance.  Just for that comment, I will most certainly step on your toes.”

Joshua laughed as he took Danneel onto the floor and Jensen leaned in closer to him.

“I’m glad I managed to get to the Faire this year,” he said in a voice only Jared could hear.

“I’m glad as well.  I have wanted to bring you here since I first saw you among the stalls of your marketplace.”  Jared cupped Jensen’s face lightly, just smiling at him.  “I walked among the beauty and Pelagian artistry and it was there that I knew that I wanted to take you home with me.”

Jensen lowered his eyes and sighed.  “It was there that I knew everything was changing.  I didn’t know what I saw in your eyes, but I knew then that you would change the world forever.”

“I hope in a good way.”

Jensen leaned in and kissed him softly.  “I am the High King of the Jade Crown.  I traveled to the Garden of Stones to win my way into history.  I am married to the two most amazing people I have ever met and I am raising a child with them.  Someday I will have my own child with you and Danneel and our children will be loved far beyond measure.  You have changed my world forever and I can never repay you for that.”

Danneel came back to them then and Joshua brought Jesina with him, Ruden a step behind out of respect to the Kings and Queen.  When Jared looked up and caught Kane’s eye from across the room, there was a moment when he knew that his friend understood what he was feeling.  Kane’s eyes dipped briefly towards Murray and Jared smiled wider to let his friend know that he approved.  Kane held Alan closer and Jared let out a deep sigh.

Danneel took his hand in hers and Jensen was there, leaning in closer, eyes checking on him as he continued to talk to Lehne and Ruden about fostering and traditions shared among the different kingdoms of the Six Lakes Realm.

Jared didn’t know if he had the words to express what he was feeling.  As a child he’d dreamed of the High King and becoming a knight of the Jade Crown.  His father had tried to clear the fantasy from his head but Jared had always believed in the chivalry of a different time and era.  They were divided nations then, seeking to conquer and control and they’d feared helping one another.  They were, indeed, a kingdom of crowns and none were interested in being more.  That had all changed when Jared had taken the Kandilihar throne though, unknowingly setting off a chain of reactions that would bring them all together again. 

The Jade throne sat in the Garden of Stones, once more populated by pilgrims who wanted to see the source of the High King’s power.  Each of the kingdoms had sent people to being working to make the Garden of Stones what it had once been; a great throne and audience place to see the High King.  Jensen refused to live there, claiming he was happy where he was, but there were talks of celebrating the coming spring at the Garden of Stones.  Lehne had mentioned it as a way to renew bonds and Sebastian had said an annual celebration of their unity was a thing not to be missed.  Jensen had finally relented when Joshua reminded him that there were other people that wanted a chance to see the Garden of Stones themselves and they wouldn’t have the opportunity otherwise.

It had been a long, hard fight, but they were surrounded by friends now.  Jared found himself surrounded by love and he was more and more in love each day; with his husband, his wife and his son. 

Jensen’s eyes caught Jared’s and his husband gave him a questioning look.  Jared had nothing to say but he smiled with a little shrug.  Jensen leaned in close, “If I sneak out now, can you follow me in five minutes?”

Jared laughed but he nodded before Jensen continued.  “Good.  Meet me in our rooms in five minutes.  We have much to celebrate tonight and not all of it should be done in public.”

Jensen made an excuse to leave the table then and Jared took his time before he did the same.  No one seemed to notice, except his wife who smirked as he left.  She wouldn’t be long, he knew, and he stretched his strides to eat up the ground quicker. 

He was practically racing by the time he reached his rooms and found a trail of Jensen’s clothing leading him to the bedroom. 

Jensen smiled at him as Jared came into the room.  “It is a good night, Husband,” Jensen said softly.  “I thought it would be a better night to spend together.”

Jared crawled up the bed and pressed his lips to Jensen’s.  It was intoxicating, kissing him like this and Jared wondered how he had ever lived without this amazing man in his life.  He had vowed to himself to make up for every pain he had ever caused him and to show him just how much he was loved. 

“The good things, my Love,” Jared said between kisses, “they are just beginning.”

 

 


End file.
